


Damnation

by Koyote19



Series: The Purgatory Arc [2]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: AU, Angst, Multi, Purgatory, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, the joys of sleep deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:25:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2471468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koyote19/pseuds/Koyote19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes enemies are the best friends you can have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to my Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: This fic is labeled AU for a reason, since my version of events during the war will differ quite a bit from canon. I took a lot of liberties with the canon timeline: The war lasted over two years, and Endless Waltz has not happened yet. Some of the content may contain descriptions of violence against children, and will be disturbing.
> 
> Authors notes/disclaimers: this was my first fic in the GW universe, and of everything I have written so far, the Purgatory Arc is the one I am the most proud of. With that said, I have made some significant changes while getting Damnation ready to post here. So even if you have read it before, it isn’t quite the same as it was when I started this journey many years ago. 
> 
> The destinations are all the same, but hopefully the ride is smoother now.
> 
> But just in case anyone wondered, some things will never change (so yes, In the Mouth of Madness is still going to end up 6x2xD)

_The colors were wrong. He stepped into the pool of light, where the stained glass window should be staining the floor with a kaleidoscope of bright red and blue, green and yellow; but now the only color he could see was dark red, pooling in uneven blotches and stains against what had been a pale wood floor. Sister Helen was so proud of that floor. The thought shook him, and for a moment, the world wavered._

_“Sister?” His voice sounded odd, young and thin with fright. “S-sister? Where are you?”_

_Don’t wanna go there, his mind insisted over and over. Don’t wanna see this ever again._  
But when he stepped across the threshold, the church suddenly changed into a school. Despite the abrupt shift from pews to desks, the stains were still on the floor, and he stepped around them carefully to reach the tiny bodies sprawled in the crimson fringe. Except the bodies he was seeing, while still heartbreaking, were suddenly unfamiliar. He spun slowly, searching for someone he recognized.  
He moved through the empty halls, no longer sure what he was looking for, or even who…. Until he found the last bodies. The Nun was curled around one of her students, protectively shielding the girl with her body. He crouched down, and tried to pull the woman’s arms away. The girl whimpered... 

The world around him shuddered again, splintering apart as Duo sat up abruptly.

_Dammit._  
It was only when he tried to shove loose hair out of his face that he realized his right hand was clenched tightly around Sister Helen’s cross where it rested against his shirt. It took a moment to get his fingers to relax enough to let go of it, and he frowned down at the imprint on his palm for several long moments before peering blearily at the clock to see 2 a.m. blinking in harsh blue numbers. 

“What the hell was I thinking, even bothering to go to bed?” The sound of his own voice rasped harshly in his ears as he scrubbed his other hand across his eyes. “Might as well get up, ‘cause I’m sure as fuck not gonna sleep again tonight.” 

There was no answer, just the deafening silence of the empty apartment. Throwing off the confining covers, he padded out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. 

Movement at the edge of his peripheral vision sent adrenaline pouring through heavy limbs, leaving him crouched protectively in the hall and reaching with one shaking hand for the gun he wasn’t wearing while his own face stared at him wide-eyed from the mirror. He debated turning the mirror to face the wall, not wanting to see the desolate loneliness in his own eyes; then thought better of it and just took the damned thing down and shut it in the hall closet. 

“Guess it’s a good thing the guys can’t see you now,” he told himself hoarsely. “Chang would no doubt have a lecture or two about too much coffee, and I am _so_ not in the fucking mood.” 

Instead of filling the silence, his voice only seemed to make it more noticeable. With a shiver, he finished the short trip to the kitchen; because jumpy or not, bitter experience had taught him that only coffee had a hope of preventing the fading remnants of the nightmare from combining with his own paranoid hallucinations to inevitably leave him puking up his guts. After a fruitless search of the cabinets turned up coffee filters, but no coffee, he finally thought to look in the trashcan. The empty can mocked him from the bottom of the bin. “Shit.” 

He opened the fridge without much hope, but the only things to greet him were a rubbery onion that had obviously been there for a while, and a lumpy substance he eventually identified as having once been Chinese takeout. “Ok… so no food or coffee.” Slamming the fridge again, he shook his head and headed back for the bathroom. “Maybe I’ll just grab breakfast on the way to work.”

* * *

Less than an hour later, he found himself walking into his office in Preventers HQ, clutching a cup of extra-strong, two-day-old coffee, and a stale donut while Zechs Merquise stared at him in surprise over the top of his computer monitor.

“Aren’t you here kind of early?” Zechs asked curiously, one elegant silver brow arching beneath the fringe of pale hair.

Duo scowled half-heartedly at his assigned officemate as he threw himself into his own chair and poked at the computer. “I could ask you that too.”

“I didn’t go home last night,” Zechs answered, looking back down at his own computer with a scowl. From the expression on his face, it was apparent that he really didn’t want to talk about why either. 

“I wish I hadn’t,” Duo muttered under his breath. “Dammit, turn on you fucking piece of –“

“I heard about the school shooting,” Zechs murmured softly, interrupting his rant at the uncooperative piece of equipment. “I thought Dr. Po told you to take a few days off?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Duo growled, and tried to ignore Zechs as the computer finally pulled up the homepage for the Preventer’s network. Unfortunately, the stark silence from the other side of the office hit him straight in the conscience. “Shit… sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. The shooting— It …just…brought back a lot of crap from before the war.”

Zechs just nodded, but neither of them spoke again. The silence wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it wasn’t unusual either. They had been sharing an office for two months now, but Zechs was in the field so much they were rarely ever there at the same time. He had a feeling that it wasn’t actually him that Zechs was trying to avoid, but everyone in the entire building. Not that that was really a surprise, he mused thoughtfully as he logged in. Despite the fact that a year had passed since the end of the war, Zechs was still regarded with suspicion even by his fellow Preventers. No one wanted to spend a lot of time around someone who tried to blow up the world. _Or an ex-Gundam pilot._

He was dragged out of his wandering thoughts, as the other man shut down his computer and stood up. 

“Heading home?”

“No,” Zechs answered with a shrug. “I’m relieving Connor and Berg on a stakeout.”

“Oh.” Duo wasn’t sure why he felt almost disappointed when the older man left him alone in the echoing silence.

* * *

With a sigh, Duo powered down the computer and gathered up his coat. He had no desire at all to leave the office, much less to head back home to his empty apartment; but considering he could no longer focus on his computer screen, much less figure out how to finish the half completed mission report he’d spent the last four hours working on, it was probably time to go anywhere else. Especially given the increasingly frequent looks Zechs had been shooting his direction before heading out himself.

_God, if Zechs can see I’m rattled, I must look like hell. Granted, he only sees me in the middle of the night._

Duo had shown up after midnight the last three nights since the school shooting, and each time the other man was already sitting at his computer. It was annoying that Zechs, while he appeared to sleep even less than Duo did, never looked half as exhausted as Duo felt. Of course, he also typically left before the day shift arrived.

Taking a moment to plaster his normal, devil-may-care smile back on, he stepped out of the small office. _Everything is fine, everything is normal, nothing to see here…_

Unfortunately the silent litany didn’t help as much as he had hoped when he glanced up to see Quatre standing in the hall outside the office that he and Wufei shared.

“Hey, Quatre!” He greeted his friend, pleased that he managed to sound cheerful and not too pathetic. “You and Chang have plans tonight? I thought maybe we could grab some burgers and shoot some pool or something.” He had tried not to intrude upon their new relationship, but being alone was starting to drive him insane. 

“Hi Duo,” Quatre smiled distractedly at him before glancing at his watch again. “Sorry. But we have tickets to the symphony tonight.” 

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“Wufei… hurry up,” Quatre called impatiently back into the office. “We’re going to be late.”

“Coming…”

“Without you? How fair is that?” The joke forced itself past the disappointment that Duo refused to show. _Everything is fine._

“Duo!” Quatre turned bright red.

“Sorry, Quat. Couldn’t resist.” Duo shook his head and tried to plaster an innocent look onto what felt like an immoveable mask. “You two are just so cute.” It hadn’t really been that surprising that the two of them had hooked up. Well, Wufei admitting that he wanted to have sex with _anyone_ was kind of a shock; but he and Quatre had the same background, and interests. 

Duo had been more worried that Trowa would be upset, since it had looked for a long time as if he and Quat were an item. To Duo’s relief, Trowa turned out to be almost relieved. _Maybe that was just 'cause he and Heero didn’t have to sneak around anymore._ This time the voice was a little more bitter than mocking. _And they do make a cute couple too. A silent one, but cute._

“Cute?” Chang growled, pulling on a tailored jacket as he stepped out of the office. “We are not cute Maxwell.” For the first time, Duo realized that Quatre was dressed in fancy clothing too. 

Neither man so much as glanced at him though, so he let himself retreat into long familiar banter instead. “Sure, Wu.”

“Maxwell!” “Duo…” They said in unison, both glaring at him but neither seemed to notice anything off about him. 

“Jeez guys. It was a joke.” He turned away. “Have fun at the Opera.”

“Symphony.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He wandered down the hall slowly, feeling more alone that he had before and hoping that Trowa or Heero might still be around.

Turning the corner, he grinned as he saw one of the two objects of his thoughts stepping out into the hall. _Speak of the devil._

“Heya, Heero.”

“Duo.” Heero’s voice, while his usual monotone, managed to sound more wary than happy.

“You and Tro wanna shoot some pool?” 

Heero shook his head, which was more of a response than Duo normally got. “He just got back from a rough mission and went home already.”

“Oh. Is he okay?”

Heero shrugged uncomfortably. “Fine.” Duo mentally translated that to mean he wasn’t and that Heero was worried.

“Anything I can do to help?” 

“No.” Once upon a time the blunt dismissal would have simply challenged Duo to try and force the other man to accept his company. But it had been three years since they’d all first met, and Duo had gotten tired of beating his head against that particular wall. _Not to mention that it quickly became obvious that not only does he not like me, he would rather spend time in a coma than have some fun. At least he only avoids me now, rather than threatening to kill me._ Stifling another sigh, he watched as Heero brushed past him and towards the exit.

“Tell Tro I said ‘hey’.”

Heero nodded, but didn’t turn around or speak again. 

_Okay. Four for four don’t want to have anything to do with me. Should I be paranoid now?_

_Be fair_ , the little voice in the back of his mind answered, for once losing the normal mocking tone. _They aren’t avoiding you… they just don’t have much free time, and when they do, you aren’t the one they want to spend it with._ It was, he had to admit grudgingly, true. 

Once upon a time, Quatre was the only one who might admit he didn’t want to be alone. The others were so sure that actual human contact would kill them. And now look at them. His determinedly cheerful smile drooped a little. _All happily together. With each other._

He debated going home, to his quiet little apartment, and found himself heading back to his office again. _Ah well. Might as well get caught up on the rest of the paperwork._


	2. Lost in the Mist

_‘Solo?’ The young boy crouched beside the still body of his best friend. ‘Solo wake up!’_

_There was no movement, no indication of life._

_‘Please don’t leave me here alone… it’s so quiet… you know I can’t stand when it’s too quiet. That’s when the bad things happen.’ One filthy fist rubbed across watering eyes, leaving a darker streak across grimed cheeks as the child prodded at the body hopelessly. The head turned towards him limply, tears of dried blood beneath the lifeless gray eyes. ‘Don’t cry Solo. You said boys don’t cry.’_

_‘I’m not crying anymore, Duo.’ The child whirled to face the voice behind him. Solo stood behind him now, blocking the way out of the dark alley. For the first time, the child felt terror wrap cold arms around his body in an obscene hug. ‘Though you will be. You kill everyone you touch. You killed me… and you have to pay for that…’_

“No!” Duo woke, disoriented from the nightmare and not sure why he was pinned helplessly to his bed. “Shit—” _What the hell was that? Solo wouldn’t have blamed me._

Realizing that he was tangled in the sweat soaked sheets, he managed to struggle free enough to sit up and scrub at stinging eyes. _What time is it? Oh, yes, let me guess. Two a.m. This is getting really old. It’s not even the same damn nightmare anymore._

Climbing out of bed, he headed for the bathroom. _Fuck, I feel like I’m covered in slime. Or blood or— something. Damn Sally for insisting that if I didn’t take at least one night off, she would put me on report._

He carefully avoided looking in the mirror as he stripped out of the oversized tee-shirt he was sleeping in and stepped into the shower stall. He had been avoiding mirrors for days now, not wanting to see the haunted look that had taken over his face. _I look like I did when Father Maxwell found me… and I so do not want to go there._

After a long semi-relaxing shower, he dragged on a pair of worn jeans and a loose shirt. Wandering into the kitchen, he poured what was left in the coffeepot into a cup and quickly shoved it in the microwave. When the timer buzzed, Duo grabbed the cup on autopilot and took a sip of the bitter liquid, trying to ignore the rancid taste. _Huh, I wonder how old this stuff is?_

Coffee of dubious origin no longer helped with the exhaustion, but he was getting used to that. It did, however, serve to keep him from succumbing entirely to unconsciousness. Looking for something to do to keep himself occupied on his unwanted vacation day, he looked around the kitchen bleakly; but he hadn’t been home long enough to cook anything in weeks, so the only dishes in the sink were an assortment of coffee cups. 

Deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort to wash them at 3 in the morning, he took his cup of stale coffee into the living room. That room looked equally unlived in. What had been a plant, left behind by Trowa when he moved out, was now a brittle bundle of sticks sitting forlornly in the window. Otherwise, there was nothing in the small room but the lumpy sofa, a coffee table cluttered with more coffee cups… and the Book. 

Duo sat down on the sofa, automatically squirming around until he found a spot where he was able to avoid the worst of the lumps, and stared forlornly at the cover of the photo album he’d put together after the war. It held mostly photos that he’d snapped of the guys when they weren’t expecting it, or shots stolen from surveillance cameras before blowing up various bases. The cover of the Book was dusty, and he realized he hadn’t touched it in several months. _Not since Trowa moved in with Heero._

For the first time, he let himself realize how much he missed his former roommate. Of all of the Gundam pilots, Trowa was the closest thing to a best friend he had let himself have since Solo’s death. The taller pilot had shared a similar background to Duo’s, and was the only one who had ever bothered to really look behind the mask he wore. It was probably why Duo hadn’t ever let them become anything more than friends; and eventually, Trowa had turned to Heero. _He left me behind, just like everyone else did—_ He frowned, wondering where that thought had come from. _Idiot, that’s the sleep deprivation talking. He didn’t leave you… you practically threw him onto Heero’s doorstep with all his belongings._

He looked around the bare apartment. _Maybe I should have kept some of his belongings. Maybe it wouldn’t seem so empty then._

Taking a deep breath, he lifted the book carefully and opened the cover. The first picture was of Deathscythe, newly christened and towering over the shuttles in the hanger of Howard’s ship. _The Prof would have flipped if he knew I took this picture… I’m glad that Howard not only lent me the camera, but he kept it safe for me until after the war._ Thoughts of the older man, with his wild hair and even wilder shirts, made him smile fondly. _Wonder if he’s still enjoying his retirement in Jamaica._

The next picture was a group shot of the other four pilots, clustered around the table where Heero’s laptop was sitting. It had been taken in the second year of the Gundam war, when the four had returned from space for a while. They had only barely started actively working together at that point, and he could remember some of the arguments that had gone on over who should be in charge of mission planning once the Doctors had dropped out of that role.

“I think Trowa and I were the only ones who didn’t want to be in charge.” Duo smiled at where Trowa was sitting on the fringe of the group, his arms folded and an annoyed expression showing in the one visible eye. _Hope he’s feeling okay. Heero actually took time off work to stay with him while he’s out on sick leave. I should give him a call tomorrow, see how he’s doing. I just don’t want him to see me and worry._

He flipped through the pages slowly; smiling sadly as random scenes brought back bittersweet memories. _I know the war was a long, terrible thing, and I know that things are better now for everyone then they were when the Alliance was in charge, but I miss how it used to be. Now everyone is so…different._

Not for the first time, he missed the easy camaraderie that he’d had with the other pilots. Back before he had to worry about being the third wheel. _Or fifth wheel. Whatever you want to call it. They all moved on with their lives and were enjoying themselves. Why can’t I? Why do I have to be trapped in the silence and memories I’ve spent my whole life trying to escape?_

The last picture was the day that he’d joined Preventers. He and Trowa had been the last holdouts, both trying to make a life that didn’t involve missions or fighting. _Yeah, and Trowa was miserable at the circus and I was miserable doing salvage when Hilde left for the Mars project with Noin. Hell, I was miserable **before** she left, but it had meant so much for her to have the yard. But she gave it all up. Maybe she was miserable too._

He stared at the picture through clouded eyes. All five of them were standing facing the wall, spread-eagled like they were waiting to be frisked. _I can’t believe Sally managed to actually take the picture, she was laughing so hard. That was the last time she’ll ever tell us to get up against the wall so she can take a picture._ He smiled then, lost in happier memories. But eventually the smile faded, and he was left alone with his ghosts; the ones he didn’t have pictures of, but that he never forgot.

Closing the book, he curled up on the couch forlornly. In spite of his best efforts, his thoughts kept returning to the earlier nightmare. 

“Solo… you didn’t really blame me for killing you, did you? I tried… tried so hard to get back with the vaccine. But it took too long to figure out where they kept it. Maybe if I’d learned to read earlier… or something…” His voice echoed oddly in the silent room, “But that was one thing you couldn’t teach me either.” 

He lay there for a bit, lost in the past, before standing up wearily. “Sally’s right… I have to get some sleep.” Gathering up the collection of empty cups on the coffee table, he dumped them into the sink. Snagging a beer from the fridge, he retreated back to the bedroom. 

The bedroom was as bare as the living room, at least as far as furniture went. He and Trowa hadn’t been able to afford much when they had finally given in and moved back to Sanck, and the room was tiny enough that the only way to fit two beds in was to stack them. They had crammed in a battered chest of drawers bought at a thrift store at the same time as the couch, and a single desk. 

When Trowa moved in with Heero, he hadn’t needed to take his bed with him, and Duo hadn’t bothered to unstack them. He had hoped that keeping the bunk beds would make it feel like someone else still lived there. _Wish you were here tonight, Tro… it would be nice to have someone else to talk to._

Not sure what impulse was prompting him, he ignored the ladder to his own bed, and crawled into Trowa’s empty bunk. Despite the fact that he’d been gone for nearly two months, Duo could still smell the faint traces of raspberry shampoo that Trowa preferred; if he closed his eyes, he could almost feel his friend’s presence in the room. He wasn’t sure if that helped the loneliness, or made it worse when he opened them again. 

Stifling a sigh, he hugged the pillow tightly and took a sip of the beer he’d brought with him. _I feel like I’m losing my mind. Why can’t I let the memories go now?_

There was no answer from the silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly to set the board for what is to come.


	3. The Damned Gather outside the Gates of Hell

Several weeks later, Zechs no longer even bothered to glance up when Duo slipped into the office sometime after 3 a.m. They had both become accustomed to seeing each other in the dead of night. While still not close friends, the silence between them was no longer uncomfortable. Duo had started to dread going home to his silent apartment and the nightmares that inevitably waited for him. Even the company of an antisocial, ex-prince with a serious case of guilt to work out was better than silence and ghosts.

“I made fresh coffee.” Zechs gestured vaguely in the direction of the coffee maker. “The stuff in the break room was growing mold.”

“Thanks.” Duo rubbed a hand across eyes that felt permanently scoured by sandpaper. The coffeemaker had mysteriously appeared two days ago, and he was incredibly grateful for its presence in the office. 

“Have you thought about talking to Sally?” Zechs finally looked up at him, his ice blue eyes carefully neutral. “See if she could give you anything to help you sleep?”

“Have you?”

“What makes you think I have trouble sleeping?” Zechs asked defensively.

“You’re always here,” Duo told him, trying to bite back the urge to snap at the older man. “Shit. Not good company tonight, man.”

“I understand.” Zechs shrugged. “I’m not exactly good company myself.”

“’s not you,” Duo sighed, and stood up again. “Gonna head down to the cafeteria and grab some breakfast. You want anything?”

“No, thanks. I’m heading out in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Duo didn’t see the thoughtful look on his office mate’s face as he slipped back into the hall and headed for the cafeteria. 

***

The cafeteria was only sparsely populated, since nightshift was little more than a skeleton crew at the best of times. Grabbing a bagel, he glanced around to see who else was around that he could maybe hang out with; but the only face he recognized was Dorothy Catalonia, and she was hunched defensively over her own cup of coffee with a glaring air of Do-Not-Disturb. 

_Great, either a bunch of ex Alliance or Oz soldiers I don’t know, or the Wicked Witch of the East. Aw, what the hell—_

“Hey…” he said softly, sinking down in a chair opposite her. “Mind if I sit here?”

Catalonia stared at him in shock as he sat down, her eyebrows arching over cold blue eyes. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Her voice was icy and bitter. 

“Eating a bagel and drinking coffee,” he grinned at her disarmingly. “What’s it look like?”

“The cafeteria is nearly empty. Surely there was not a problem finding a seat at another table?”

“No… but I wanted to sit at this one.” 

“So sorry for taking your favorite table,” she snapped. “Next time put your name on it.” He blinked at her in shock as she gathered up her coffee.

“Hey… what’s with all the attitude?” he asked finally. “I thought you wouldn’t mind some company for once. Every time I see you… you’re always alone.”

“Maybe I prefer to be alone.”

“Huh. Wish I did. Care to share the secret?”

“What secret?” She threw him a suspicious look, but sat back down in her seat.

“Of how to enjoy always being alone?”

“Other people suck.” She shrugged. “What would you know about being alone, anyway? You’re one of the saviors of the world, a Gundam Pilot. You were on the side of righteousness against Oz and White Fang both.” A bitter smile curved her lips. “People _like_ you. I on the other hand… was the granddaughter of one of the major powers in Romefeller, a warmongering supporter of Oz, and a member of White Fang. People _don’t_ like me.”

“There are lots of people in Preventers who were part of Oz or White Fang.” He frowned. He’d never stopped to think about why Dorothy was always alone.

“Most of them weren’t connected to a computer system piloting Mobile Dolls, or the one to stick a sword through Quatre Winner, much-loved heir to the Universe.”

“Well… yeah. But it’s been a year. I thought the whole point of ending the war was forgiveness and peace.”

“Right,” she snorted inelegantly. “You’ve been listening to Relena’s pacifist speeches again, haven’t you?” 

“Not exactly,” he shrugged. “I thought you guys were friends though?”

“I switched sides a few too many times. Like Zechs.” Her smile was more of a grimace of pain. “She isn’t exactly fond of either of us anymore.”

“I never thought of that. No wonder he never goes home.”

“Yeah.” She looked down at her coffee cup, then up at him. “How come you’re here on the nightshift, anyway?”

“Been coming in early the last few days.” 

“Six hours early?”

“Yeah. So? Last time I looked at the Duty Roster, you weren’t scheduled for nightshift either.”

“I…” She shrugged again. “I like it here at night. Fewer people that remember who I was.”

“And an empty apartment has too much room for ghosts?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” She looked at him for a long moment. “But this is a new thing for you. Zechs and I have been wandering around Preventers at night almost since it was formed. What happened to bring you here?”

“My invitation to the guilt-fest got delayed in the mail?” He tried for a grin, but failed. “I…one of the cases… I was on… was…”

She watched him for a long moment, the bitter look fading from her eyes for the first time in nearly a year. “Let me guess… the school shooting?”

“That obvious? Funny, you, Zechs and Sally Po are the only ones who even considered that that case might be getting me down.”

“I know where your name came from,” she said quietly. “I… this is not going to endear me to you… but I think my grandfather was the one who ordered the destruction of Maxwell Church.”

“Oh.” He honestly couldn’t think of anything else to say to that. The massacre, even though he had relived it nightly in his dreams, had happened over ten years ago. And her Grandfather was dead. She couldn’t have been much older than he was when the attack happened.

“That’s it? Oh?” She looked surprised. 

“Were you the one who told your grandfather to bomb it?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged sadly. “It was just… the school was… run by nuns… and one of them… I found one of them.”

“Oh, Duo—” He was startled by the sudden sympathy in her normally cold voice.

“And I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” he mused. “I haven’t told anyone this… well Zechs kinda guessed the first night I showed up… but…”

She smiled a little bitterly. “Sometimes the only person you can talk to is a stranger.”

“If that was true, I would have been sitting at a different table.”

“Maybe. But you and I aren’t friends,” she pointed out. “Have you talked to your friends about this?”

“No. They… don’t have time for me to bother them with my problems.”

“Then what is the point of having friends?” she retorted. “Not that I would know, since I don’t seem to have any.”

“Why aren’t you and Zechs closer?” He changed the subject abruptly. “I… would have thought you two would stick together against everyone else. You were on the same side at the end… most of the time, anyway.”

“I think we remind each other of how insane we both were at the end. And the… mobile doll system and Epyon… it…” She broke off sharply. “Shit. Never mind.” He watched as she gathered up her coffee and stood up. “Maxwell, thanks for the company.” The words were awkward, and somewhat hesitant.

“Any time.”

“I almost think you mean that.” And then in a swirl of blond hair, she was gone.

“So do I.”


	4. Wicked Witch of the East

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enemies become friends, and old friendships are repaired. 
> 
> And those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others.

Dorothy Catalonia scowled down at the open file on her desk without seeing it, not sure whether she wanted to kiss or kill Duo Maxwell. 

_Why did he have to make me feel like a person again, even if it was just for a moment? I don’t want to feel like a human. I don’t **like** humans. _

She ignored the fact that the main reason she didn’t like people was that most of them didn’t like her. _They all are so damn quick to point fingers and spread blame. Like none of them have ever made mistakes or done something they regretted._

The thought made her laugh, a bitter sound completely without humor. _Of course, most of them weren’t responsible for destroying an entire chain of islands full of innocent people._

Shaking her head, she shoved long blond hair back behind one ear and tried to make herself focus on the file. But the words kept blurring into memories of the pain in a pair of haunted eyes. 

_Why did Maxwell bother to talk to me? Was he that desperate for company? I think the other pilots would have preferred to chew off a limb or two to avoid spending time in my company. Especially Quatre Winner. Not that I can really blame him. Sticking three feet of steel into someone’s stomach does tend to negate any sort of friendship possibilities afterwards._

She sighed, and gave up on the file in disgust. _And why the hell did I tell him that I knew about the Maxwell Church Massacre? The one person that has voluntarily spoken to me in months, and I try to make sure he hates me too— way to go. No wonder they call me the Wicked Witch of the East. I suppose that means they all wish I had been on Hawaii when we dropped the sky on it. I just wish I had such a thing as silver slippers._

Closing the file, she glanced at her computer. “You don’t hate me though, do you?” 

Aware that talking to her computer could be considered unbalanced by everyone with the possible exception of Heero Yuy, she forced herself to keep the remainder of the conversation silent as she laid a cold hand on the monitor. The main menu opened beneath her palm. _You still talk to me… all too much._

**You hear me. Talk back.** The words scrolled onto the screen, then faded out.

_That’s not a good thing._

**Good—not good.** In her imagination the system shrugged. That thought made her smile again. _Yet another reason for everyone to hate me if they knew that I could still hear the Epyon system talking to me—a year after it was destroyed. God… maybe I am nuts._

_I’m not listening to you tonight._ Deliberately blocking out the computer’s voice, she took her hand off the monitor and put it back on the keyboard as she logged onto the network. Hoping for a distraction from her self-pity, she was nevertheless startled when her computer informed her that she had an email. _Huh? Who the hell is emailing me?_

Curiosity compelled her to click on the message. _Maxwell… might have known._ The message was short, consisting of only four words. 

/I did mean it. D/

For the first time in months, her smile was almost human.

* * *

Dorothy blinked as a fresh cup of coffee appeared beside her empty one. Glancing up, she was somehow not surprised to see Maxwell seating himself across from her at the corner table.

“Another early morning?” she asked, only half sarcastically. “By the way, you look like Hell.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, shoving long bangs out of his eyes. “I was afraid I wasn’t getting the look quite right.”

“I think you’ve got it nailed. If I were you, I’d avoid Dr. Po for a few days.”

“Already planning on it. Last time she saw me, she made me take a night off. Not gonna do that again.” As if realizing that he’d revealed too much, he flushed and shut up.

“Nightmares?”

“Yeah. Zechs wants me to get her to give me something to make me sleep. But I really don’t like sleeping pills. They just make it really hard to wake up if I do have a nightmare.”

“Ah. I know that feeling only too well.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a bit. 

“You do realize that you have to sleep eventually?” She finally pointed out, trying for something like tact. 

“I sleep. Sort-of,” he amended with a grimace. “ At least a couple hours a night, anyway.”

“And that a constant diet of coffee and stale donuts is not a good thing?”

“Yes, _Mom_.” He scowled at her, and she winced again at the dark circles around the once bright eyes. 

“Well, obviously you need one…” she growled back.

“I’m fine.”

“Of course you are. That’s why you’re talking to me. A sure sign of sanity, right there.”

“You know, people might like you more if you liked yourself even a little bit.”

“And you know so much about other people?” she snapped—and suddenly felt the rush of anger subside. “Sorry.”

“S’okay,” he shrugged. “I’ve been a little snappy myself.”

“You just have to be a goddamned saint, don’t you?” she asked wearily.

“Well… I can’t be a Gundam saint anymore, we blew those up. And I have known for years that God hates me. Damning me was only the logical next step.”

“You don’t like yourself much either, do you?”

He blinked at her in surprise, and seemed to consider it for a moment. “No. Not really.”

“You do know that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at others?”

“Yeah. But I don’t like my house much.” 

To her surprise, she found herself laughing at that. The rusty, unfamiliar sound scared her, and she found herself taking shelter in anger once more.

“Maybe I do!” she snarled, trying not to look like she was running away as she left the table abruptly.

* * *

Safely back in her office, she rested her face in her hands. “Well, that was smooth.”

“I wouldn’t give it a lot of points for tact,” Duo said quietly. She jumped, staring at him in shock.

“What are you doing here?”

“Apologizing,” he said quietly. “I really didn’t mean to upset you again. I was trying to make a joke. Obviously it failed.”

Her mouth opened and closed again when she couldn’t think of anything to say. 

“So… am I forgiven for tossing stones at your house?” he slowly prompted; sounding genuinely worried that she was angry with him.

“That depends on whether or not you intend to keep doing it,” she finally managed to say.

“Well, It was nice to hear you laugh.” He shrugged. “So I can’t promise that I won’t toss the occasional rock.” When he smiled, some of the haunted look faded away. “But I’ll try to restrain myself.”

“See that you do,” she muttered, but deep inside, part of her was hoping he really would throw a rock big enough to shatter the glass walls she’d built around herself.

* * *

Afterwards, she was never quite sure when she got used to Maxwell joining her on her breaks. He would just appear a few minutes after she did, get his coffee and donut, and sit down across from her at the table with a halfhearted attempt at his formerly blinding grin. 

“Are you bugging my office or something?” She finally asked him, shaking her head.

“Huh?”

“We don’t even work on the same floor. How do you always know when I’m on my way here?”

“Just lucky?” He shrugged. “I never really thought about it.”

“Ah. So hanging out with me is purely an accident?” She was surprised to hear the disappointment in her voice.

“Nah, just saves me from having to go back to your office and drag you down here so I have someone to eat with.” He managed more of a grin this time.

“So why don’t you just drag Zechs down here with you in the first place?”

“I swear that man would die if he had to eat a donut.” Duo snickered a little. “Must be some weird social hang-up you aristocratic types have. I think Quatre thought I was playing a prank on him the first time I tried to get him to eat one. Wufei just sneered.”

“Hmm, other than the utter lack of nutrition, the thought of you on more sugar is a truly frightening thought.”

“Hey, never underestimate the power of a good sugar rush,” he mumbled around a mouthful of donut.

“Since it is the only thing besides coffee that appears to keep you functioning, I won’t.” She sighed. “It’s just that the ones here are… stale. I prefer my donuts fresh, hot, and filled with chocolate icing.”

“Oooh. So you admit to eating donuts, you’re just a snob about it. It’s all so clear now.”

“Asshole.”

“Always.” He smirked faintly. “That I will freely confess to.” 

Dorothy started to reply, only to freeze as she caught sight of Zechs standing in the doorway to the cafeteria. Duo turned to see what had caught her attention, and waved at his erstwhile office-mate. Zechs nodded stiffly, and vanished into the line to get something to eat.

“You mind if he joins us?” Duo asked quietly, noticing the still look on her face with a frown.

“I… suppose not,” she muttered, not sure how to feel. She had not spoken more than a few words to Zechs since the Libra was destroyed at the end of the war. It was more than a little disconcerting for her to face her former commander like this. A moment later, Zechs hesitated beside the table, holding a bottle of water and an apple in one hand.

“Wanna sit?” Duo invited, scooting over a little to allow Zechs to pull the chair out.

Zechs didn’t speak for a long moment, watching her silently as if asking permission. 

“He’ll whine until you do,” she finally managed. Zechs was still eyeing her with that silent appraisal that told her he was feeling as awkward as she was. After a long moment, he pulled the chair out and sat as well.

“So this is where you vanish to every morning.” He glanced at Duo with a curious look. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Only a fascinating discussion on the merits of donuts.” Duo shrugged. “What dragged you out of the office?”

“Unlike some people, I do not live on a constant supply of coffee.” Zechs finally smiled. The light banter seemed to be relaxing him, and he flipped a long section of silver-blond hair over his shoulder before leaning back in his chair. 

“Yeah, yeah. This is a conspiracy, right?” Duo looked at Dorothy accusingly. “You put him up to this, didn’t you.”

“No. Though I might have if I thought it would do any good.”

Duo just rolled his eyes. Dorothy found herself smiling at him, in spite of herself.

“You should smile more often,” he said softly, sounding suddenly serious. She felt the painful flush across her cheeks and glared at him. 

“What, and destroy her reputation?” To her surprise, it was Zechs who rescued the moment. “That wouldn’t do. Then Une wouldn’t have anything to threaten the new recruits with.”

“Sure she would,” Duo grinned. “There’s always _us_.”


	5. The Ghost and the Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zechs sees something that shakes his world, and starts to put the pieces together.

Zechs looked up from his computer, frowning slightly as he tried to figure out what force was keeping Duo in the rolling chair on his side of the room. The younger man was curled up on the unstable surface, more than half asleep and listing dangerously to one side.

“Maxwell.”

“…hunh…?” Groggy blue eyes met his in complete incomprehension. “Wha…?”

“You have to sleep, Duo,” Zechs growled. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“You don’ sleep…” Duo muttered. “An’m awake.”

“Sure you are,” Zechs sighed. “Come on, there’s a couch down the hall in the lounge.”

“No.” Duo struggled upright, scrubbing his hand over his eyes with a groan. “I’m okay.”

“Duo—”

_“No.”_

“Fine!” Zechs glared at his co-worker. “Whatever.” 

He turned away from the young man, and stared at his computer; pretending to work while keeping a silent countdown in his head. As he had expected, less then ten minutes later, there was a soft thud as Maxwell’s forehead hit the top of the desk. Zechs shook his head ruefully. _Gods, was I ever that stubborn?_

Standing up, he debated moving Maxwell to the lounge, before quickly discarding the idea. He’d been a gundam pilot himself; he wasn’t about to try touching the ex-terrorist in his sleep, much less try to pick him up. Hoping Maxwell wouldn’t fall out of the chair before he got back, he moved quietly down the hall and took several of the cushions from one of the threadbare couches in the empty lounge. 

Setting them down in the corner behind Maxwell’s desk, he turned back to the unconscious agent.

“Maxwell. Come on, wake up.”

“…mmnn…”

“I know, you said that already.” Zechs smiled faintly, amused despite himself. “Can you walk or do I get to try carrying you?”

“…mmno…” Duo’s eyes opened halfway in alarm, and he tried to struggle out of the chair. Zechs caught him carefully, one arm around the too slender waist.

“Wher’re we goin’?”

“Bed, Maxwell.”

“Oooo. Didn’t… think… you bent that…way.” 

“You have no idea,” Zechs sighed. In the end, he half carried Duo to the makeshift bed. “Lay down, kiddo—”

“‘M no’a kid, solo.”

“I know.” Zechs got the younger man down on the cushions, and folded his own jacket over the deceptively small form. “It’s okay. Go to sleep.”

Sleep hazed eyes blinked shut, then opened uncertainly.

“Solo? Don’t-- Don’t leave?”

“I won’t.”

“’Kay.” With a last sigh, Maxwell passed out again. Zechs watched him for a long moment, wondering at the oddly protective feelings the younger pilot stirred. _When did I start to care so much?_

‘When you started looking forward to his visits." The smooth voice behind him sounded almost amused. ‘So this is the notorious pilot 02.’

“I didn’t ask you,” he muttered between gritted teeth, carefully refusing to look around. While it had always been something of a guilty pleasure to look at Treize while he was alive, it was more than a little unnerving to do so now that he was dead; not to mention that the disfiguring burns were more than Zechs could bear to see.

‘Oh, my mistake. I forget I’m no longer the only visitor you have these nights.’ Ignoring Zechs' attempt to not look at him, Treize moved to stand over the young man sleeping on the floor. ‘Though he looks rather beyond answering at the moment.’

“Was there some purpose to your visit? Or are you simply rubbing in the fact that I am slowly going insane?” Zechs sighed, sitting back on his heels next to Duo and finally looking up at the specter of his best friend. 

‘I missed you,’ Treize answered with a shrug. ‘And since you were asking questions of thin air, I thought it only polite to answer.’

“Ah yes. You were always one to be polite,” Zechs muttered. _I really hope Lady Une hasn’t started bugging the office, or I’m going to find myself on the street or in a small padded room very soon._

‘Politeness is a requirement of Aristocracy.’

“So is not having a soul or a sense of fashion,” Zechs growled. “Haven’t we had this conversation before?”

‘Of course we have. And since this conversation is all in your head, we’ll no doubt have it again.’ Treize shrugged nonchalantly. ‘You know, somehow I thought he’d be bigger.’

“What?” Zechs blinked, a little lost by the observation. 

‘For one so young to control a war machine like Deathscythe, it’s a wonder any of them survived the war at all.’

“Yeah well, no help from you, that’s for certain.”

‘I did not wish their deaths.’ Treize managed to sound almost insulted. ‘It would have been a shame to smother such bright sparks.’

“Right,” Zechs sighed. 

‘You wound me, my friend.’

“I can’t wound you, you’re _already dead_.”

‘Trivial details,’ Treize smiled; Zechs winced as the burns on his face cracked and began to ooze.

“Why do you appear like this?” Zechs finally asked, tucking the coat more securely around Duo’s shoulders and standing up. He had been afraid the soft, one-sided conversation would wake the young man, but if anything, he seemed to have fallen deeper into sleep. “You have no physical form, so why would you appear as damaged as you do?”

‘You see your own perceptions of what I look like,’ Treize answered slowly. ‘My appearance matters not to me. If it does to you, then the solution is also up to you.’

“I’m too tired for riddles right now.” Zechs turned away, dropping wearily into Duo’s chair. “Why are you here tonight? You have stayed away since Duo started appearing at night.”

‘Perhaps it was merely curiosity about the one who has been replacing me as the uppermost person in your thoughts. And perhaps it is because the night is full of many lost souls, living and dead.’

“And is finding those souls your punishment?” Zechs asked bitterly.

‘I prefer atonement.’ Treize frowned pensively. ‘And no, it’s not about punishment.’ 

“What, then?”

“Tonight I am merely serving as a guide.” Treize gestured at where Duo lay oblivious, tossing restlessly in his sleep. For the first time, Zechs noticed the shadowy, translucent figure crouched protectively beside Duo. He stared at the painfully thin, ragged figure hunched on his heels, with arms wrapped nervously around his knees. He couldn’t have been much older than fifteen, with dirty blond hair that fell into his face and a wary look to the gray eyes that met his defiantly.

“Who the hell is that?”

‘That would be Solo.’

“Solo?” Zechs blinked at the newest apparition. “Is the name supposed to mean something? I don’t—”

‘Not that I am aware of, other than that this is who Maxwell thought you were as he passed out a few moments ago. I believe Solo actually died long before the war truly started. But he doesn’t speak to me. It would appear that the Khushrenada charm does have its limits. Though I am curious whether he doesn’t trust me because I’m a soldier or because I’m an adult.’

Zechs stared at the two ghosts, unable to speak for several long moments.

‘My friend, is something wrong?’ Treize finally asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m losing my mind.”

‘You’ve waited until now to decide that?’ Treize arched one forked brown curiously. ‘I confess I had expected this conversation months ago.’

“But—”

‘But what?’

“You aren’t really here,” Zechs protested. 

‘Well, of course not; at least not physically. I don’t suppose I’m physically anywhere after the way I died.’ Treize shrugged, not looking bothered by that fact. ‘I thought you had figured that part out. Perhaps I was wrong.’

“I… I thought you were just my mind personifying my own guilt. To allow me to deal with it in a rational and conscious manner…”

‘Someone has spent just a bit too much time with the psychiatrists.’ Treize sat down in thin air a few feet away from Zechs. ‘I don’t think that’s necessarily healthy, by the way.’

“I’m talking to someone who’s been dead for ten months!”

‘Yes and you’ve been doing so for nearly that entire ten months, too.’ Treize eyed him worriedly. ‘That hasn’t bothered you up until now, so what is the problem? The boy?’

“I… am I going to see dead people everywhere?”

‘Have you been up until now?’ 

“Just you… and my father.”

‘Well. And now Solo.’ With another pensive frown, Treize glanced back at the boy crouched silently beside Maxwell. ‘I suppose if you do, that is yet another sin to lie at my feet, and I will have to atone for that too. But I don’t think that you will have this problem all the time. We tend to be drawn to those of the living that call to us. Duo has no doubt been thinking of Solo lately, so he was drawn here. You were not aware of his presence until I pointed it out to you.’

“No…” 

‘Well then. I think it will be controllable. Though you may well see Solo from now on. He does seem to be as protective of Maxwell as you are.”

“Does… does Duo see him?”

“No.” Treize looked sad. “Duo does not see any of the ghosts that he carries in his heart.”

“There are more?”

‘There are many more,’ Treize assured him reluctantly. ‘There are many things about my life that I regret now, and forcing a war on the colonies that made them turn children into soldiers is one I will never be free of.’ The sad look in Treize eyes reminded Zechs of the man’s earlier comment. 

“You said that if I did see the dead everywhere, that it would be your fault. Because you started the war?” 

‘Not exactly.” If it had been anyone else besides Treize, Zechs would have thought they were fidgeting nervously. ‘I can’t honestly regret the war, because I still believe it was necessary. Romefeller had to be stopped, and I tried the only way I knew how. The results-- were not what I had anticipated. I will freely admit that I made mistakes.’

“Then what would make this your fault?”

‘Tell me, am I the first ghost you have ever spoken too?’ 

“Yes.”

‘That, my friend, is my greatest sin.’ Treize was suddenly unable to meet his eyes. ‘What I did to you and Une and to Dorothy, and indirectly to Winner and Yuy. I will be paying for that crime for the rest of my existence in this state.’

“I don’t understand.”

‘Epyon.’ The single word sent chills down Zechs spine. ‘It was actually never intended for you, you know. I had another pilot in mind.’

“Yourself?”

‘Dorothy.’ Treize had to smile at the raw shock on Zechs face. ‘I made the system for her.’

“But she was part of Romefeller.”

‘And hated it almost more than I did, if for different reasons,’ Treize pointed out. ‘Though I do not know what those might be. You would have to ask her.’

“I… why are you telling me this?”

‘I have come to realize that I must tell someone my guilt. And most of the dead do not care to talk to me either.’ Treize stood up again, pacing restlessly around the cramped office. ‘I made the suit for Dorothy. But Une was actually the first person to use the system. You- don’t need to know the details of why. But it left her rather unstable. As I’m sure you noticed during the war.’

“When she first split her persona between Lady Une and Commander Une?”

‘Yes. Epyon affected each person that used it differently. Almost as if adapting itself to each user while looking for the perfect fit. I myself saw only the way in which I was to die: knowing that I had failed and won both. I am not sure what Une saw. But it took her the rest of the war and a period of time spent in a coma to recover from it. Dorothy-- the system was designed for her. She came to me while I was under house arrest in Brussels, and I let her use it. It changed her, but she would not say how, and I am no longer able to ask her. She does not see ghosts. Later, when my work was stolen and corrupted into both the zero system and the Mobile Doll system, by then you had taken Epyon for yourself. I did not know how to warn you that it would change you too. That it would change everyone that used it, and therefore change itself.’

“That is why I see you?”

‘I believe so, yes.’

“And it changed Dorothy?” Several things had suddenly become clear to Zechs. 

‘I believe that Epyon was the only reason that she was able to control the mobile dolls. No one could use the system that had not been in Epyon, and there were so few that could claim that and still be considered sane.’ The ghost shrugged one elegant shoulder. ‘Was that not why you put her into the system on Libra?”

“I… yes. It was. Though I didn’t know why she was the only one that could make the dolls fly for more than a few minutes, much less an entire battle.” There was silence for a moment. “And Yuy and Winner?”

‘As I said, my work was stolen and corrupted. The gundam pilots received a much less… alive version of the Epyon AI. And Winner and Yuy were the ones that used it extensively during the last year of the war.’ Treize smiled sadly. ‘Or did you really think an empath of the degree that Winner is now could survive as a soldier in a war as bloody as the one I started?’

“And Yuy?” 

‘I do not know. He was practically a machine before using it. It almost seemed to open up his emotions, and make him more sane, not less.’

Zechs shook his head dazedly, and his eyes were drawn back to the two figures that had started the entire conversation to begin with. “Duo- did he ever use it? Is that- is that why he is self-destructing now?”

‘I have come to believe that he may have used the Zero system, though I also have reason to think that Epyon may have been tested on him at least once.’ Treize looked sadly down at Duo. ‘But he was afraid of silence and being alone long before that, and his nightmares are of things in his past, not possible futures. So it may be just nightmares and nothing to lay at my account.’

“I can hope.”

‘So can I,’ Treize sighed. 

“Can you stop his nightmares?” Zechs asked hopefully. "If they _were_ caused by Epyon?"

‘No. I am only a ghost.’ Treize looked regretful. ‘I would that I could do something to help him sleep. But…’

"No, it was a foolish question." Zechs shook his head, and simply turned back to watch over his partner while he slept.


	6. The Comfort of Strangers

**Shadows slide across the mouth of the alley as the light dies**

Dorothy started awake, aware that she was resting with her head on her desk only when she looked up to see the computer cursor blinking at her. The words from her dream were fading from the screen, even as she sat up. _What the hell?_

**Shadows everywhere… no light now.** The screen went completely dark, not even the cursor showing. 

_God… not you again… Leave me alone._

**Clock stopping, no time. endgame.**

_If you’re gonna freaking talk to me and drive me insane, at least stop using the damned riddles…and talk to me, don’t just say things that don’t make sense._ She shoved long blond hair out of her eyes and glanced at the clock. _Shit… 7 p.m. What the hell does it want?_

Scattershot surveillance images of Lady Une in her Oz uniform, and Duo as a prisoner awaiting execution strobed across the screen, followed by Lady Une in a Preventers uniform and Duo lying still in the remains of a ruined church. For just a moment, she wished the words would appear again. 

“Duo’s in danger?” She asked, frowning slightly. “Or Une?” _Ok, I have now passed the point of slightly nuts and gone straight to full blown insanity. That or Lassie in the modern day is a dead computer system on crack._

Another image appeared, this time of Duo, sitting across from her desk, apologizing for making her laugh. 

“I’m getting the drift here, could you be a little more specific?” 

“Um… excuse me?” A voice said hesitantly from the doorway, and Dorothy jumped guiltily. “Who were you talking to?” 

Thinking fast, she scowled at the rookie. “A source on a surveillance mic. What do you need? There’s a situation starting here—” 

“I…er… the Records clerk said you had checked out the McGrower files.” 

“Here.” She stood up, dumping the files in his arms on her way out of the office. “And bring them back when you’re done.” 

It took only a few moments to reach Maxwell’s office on the floor below hers. Somehow she wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t there. Zechs glanced up at her curiously as she stuck her head in. 

“Have you seen Maxwell?” 

“I think he just got back from the field,” Zechs shrugged. “Une cornered him though.” 

“Shit.” Dorothy frowned. _OK, so it’s not physical danger. So what is wrong? Or are you still showing me scenes of the future?_

“Why were you looking for Duo?” Zechs asked softly. 

“I’m— not sure. Just had a feeling something was wrong.” 

He frowned at her thoughtfully. 

“I’m sure it was nothing,” she sighed, and turned to leave. 

“Of course.” To her surprise, he was right behind her as she started down the hall towards Une’s office. “But perhaps we should make sure?” 

* * * 

Duo sat miserably in the hard chair across from Lady Une, trying not to flinch as she glared at him. 

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she growled. He thought it might almost have been preferable if she had yelled at him instead. “Or worse, get whoever is unlucky enough to be assigned as your partner killed?” 

“No. But—” 

“Then what the hell was going on out there today?” 

“I don’t know,” he glared back, taking refuge in being angry as well. “But maybe you should be asking Simpson that, considering the stupid stunt he pulled in that alley was what blew the contact with the witness in the first place.” 

“He was following regulations.” 

"Yeah, and it nearly got us all killed.” Duo shook his head. “You don’t flash a badge on the street, not in a slum like that and not without a hell of a lot of backup.” 

“ _You were his backup._ I thought you could handle a situation like that, or I would have sent Yuy with him.” 

“Oh, now that would have been good. Send someone with no clue about human nature to a place where instinct is the lowest common denominator.” Duo laughed. “I know he has a reputation for suicide missions, but damn...” 

“Maxwell.” Lady Une frowned, her expression turning hard and cold. “You have a worse reputation for suicide missions right now than _Yuy_ does. No one wants to be partnered with you more than once. I have complaints that you are reckless, that you aren’t sleeping, that you may or may not be hallucinating in the field. One of your ex-partners actually thought you might be a drug addict. Now your last partner is in the hospital with a bullet in his shoulder, and you can’t even tell me for sure what happened out there to cause the firefight. Why is that?” 

He looked away. 

“I think it’s because you weren’t where you were supposed to be,” she growled. “So where were you?” 

“I heard something suspicious in the warehouse. I told him I was going to check it out and to wait for me. Obviously he didn’t wait, he did something stupid, and the situation got out of hand.” Duo dropped his head into his hands, his elbows propped on the edge of her desk. “I admit I was wrong to leave him, since he had no business being on that mission in the first place, and no clue what kind of place we were standing in. But that is all that I consider to be my fault in the mess.” 

Une stared at him for a long moment, apparently hearing the conviction in his voice. “And what would _you_ have done, if you had been leading the mission?” 

“We wouldn’t have been dressed in anything remotely likely to scream cop to the natives, for one. And I would have pulled out the minute I realized that two gangs were about to pull off a massive drug sale in the warehouse.” Duo shrugged. “Grabbed the witness and run for the hills. Not tried to play sheriff in High Noon.” 

“You are a preventer…” 

“Yeah, and despite your opinion to the contrary, I am _not_ suicidal. No one wants to work with me? Maybe I don’t want to be partnered with any of them!” Duo closed his eyes. _God, maybe I’m not cut out for this job either._

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem anymore. I have run out of people to try and partner you with. And until you start sleeping nights instead of wandering around here like a ghost, you aren’t going back out in the field either.” 

“You’re firing me?” He stared at her, feeling more lost than he’d ever believed possible. _Way to go Maxwell, screw this up too._

“No. I am far too shorthanded to afford to lose an agent voluntarily.” Her expression softened slightly. “But you’re suspended from field duty until you convince Sally you can go back into the field without getting yourself or anyone else killed.” 

“So what am I supposed to do?” Duo asked mockingly. “Sit at my desk and play solitaire?” 

“I had better _not_ find you doing that,” She growled back. “No. Mission planning, surveillance, I don’t care. Hell, you can start going through the unsolved cases that have been shelved in the back record room gathering dust. Just not field work.” 

“Fine.” He stood up angrily. “Are we done then?” 

“Maxwell, get some sleep,” she sighed. “You are killing yourself, whether you believe it to be true or not. I can’t afford to lose anyone, especially not an ex-gundam pilot. Take a few days off, get your head together, and we’ll see about putting you back in the field. That’s the best I can do. Or you can hand me your badge and leave.” 

“I’m not suicidal.” He glared back over his shoulder as he stormed out of the office, letting the door slam behind him. 

“Of course you aren’t,” Zechs observed calmly. “Yelling at the head of Preventers in her own office and then storming out is a perfectly rational course of action, right Dorothy?” 

“Oh yes,” Dorothy agreed, grinning a little. 

Duo yelped, spinning around to find the two leaning against the wall on either side of Lady Une’s door. 

“Shit!” He blinked at them in shock, trying to restart his heart again. “Dammit, don’t do that.” Twin innocent looks met his halfhearted glare. “Oh God, they’ve joined forces against me too.” 

“We’re not against you,” Zechs observed quietly, trying to ignore the sudden wistful thought that joining forces might not be that bad a thing. 

“Are you alright?” Dorothy asked, sounding a little more serious. “We couldn’t hear details, just the tone of her voice. She didn’t sound happy.” 

“She took me out of the field,” Duo said dejectedly, feeling the anger that had been supporting him melt away. “Said I’m a danger and that no one wants to work with me anymore.” 

Zechs and Dorothy both winced, realizing as their eyes met over his bowed head just how much they really had in common. 

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing you hang out with us, right?” Dorothy said quietly. “No one wants to work with us either.” 

“Yeah,” Duo sighed, and started walking slowly back towards his office. Somehow it didn’t really surprise him when both of them fell into step behind him. They trailed him back to the office that he and Zechs shared. “So what were you guys doing there, anyway?” 

“Waiting for you,” Zechs said with a shrug, sinking gracefully into his chair and then realizing that they were going to be one chair short. Dorothy hovered uncertainly in the doorway. 

“Well, I guess I should be getting back to my office,” she muttered uncomfortably. 

“Please stay.” Zechs glanced at Duo who was sitting slumped in his own chair, mangling the end of his braid in his fingers. He still looked incredibly depressed. “Actually, on second thought, let’s none of us stay.” 

“Huh?” Duo looked up, bewildered. “I really don’t want to go home tonight, Zechs. I was just going to crash here again.” 

“I said nothing about going home, Duo.” Zechs smiled faintly. “I was thinking that actually leaving the office for one night would not be the end of the world for any of us. It’s not like anyone will miss us.” 

“So…?” 

“How about dinner? Something that does not come out of the vending machine or the cafeteria here.” 

Dorothy blinked, looking rather stunned. “Are you actually inviting me to go with you guys?” 

“Yes,” Zechs sighed. “I think all three of us have spent too long being alone. Why shouldn’t the three of us have dinner together?” 

“Um… that sounds good to me?” Duo looked hopefully at her. “Come on Doro, or I’ll start chunking really big rocks next time.” 

“Why not?” She actually smiled, looking oddly pleased for a moment before glaring at Zechs. “But I’m expecting you to help me make sure he consumes something besides donuts and coffee.” 

“I think that can be arranged.” 

“God, now they really are ganging up on me.” 

“Get used to it Maxwell.” 

As they filed out of the office and closed the door, Zechs saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing back, he saw Treize standing in the hallway behind them, smiling faintly. For the first time, Treize looked as he remembered him, without the disfiguring burns. Zechs smiled back at the ghost as he followed his companions down the hall. _Maybe this will work out for the best after all._


	7. Count Three and Pray

Duo let Zechs steer him out of the building, retreating to autopilot in something like shock. It felt good to let someone else be in charge for a while. _Yeah, less chance that I will screw up again that way._

He knew that Une had a point, he was endangering other agents. He just didn’t know what to do about that fact. _Should I quit? What else would I do?_ He dimly heard Zechs and Dorothy discussing where to eat and if they should take more than one car. 

“Am I suicidal?” He asked, startled when he realized that he’d asked that out loud. They broke off the discussion and turned to look at him.

“No more than we are,” Dorothy finally sighed. “That’s why we like you.”

“But, you guys seem to function. And Une isn’t taking you out of the field.”

“She tried,” Zechs pointed out, stopping beside a nondescript car and unlocking the door. “But we don’t go into the field with partners, and we stay just far enough under Dr. Po’s radar that she can’t justify it.”

“We’ve managed to slip through the cracks.” Dorothy frowned. “Which you could probably manage too, if you start sleeping.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to!” Duo scowled. “I try to sleep. I… at least I did for a while.”

“I know,” Zechs answered; sounding oddly sad. “Get in.” 

Duo sighed and slipped into the front seat of the small car, dimly aware of Dorothy sitting behind him. He couldn’t think of anything to say, and the silence got longer.

Lost in his own depressed thoughts, it was almost a shock when Zechs pulled the car over and parked. Glancing out the window, Duo saw a small, but elegant restaurant; instantly he felt himself flushing with embarrassment.

“Um… guys?”

“Yes?”

“What is this place?” He frowned a little. “I thought maybe we’d grab burgers or something. I just got out of the field. And Une grabbed me before I hit the showers.”

“You’re fine, Maxwell.” Dorothy dragged him out of the car. “You need real food, not burgers.”

“Hey, you just said I couldn’t have coffee and donuts. Nobody said anything about food I wouldn’t recognize.” _Or couldn’t afford._

Zechs’ hand on his elbow kept him from just heading down the block in a random direction, since he had no clue where they were. “Trust me, this place is not as fancy as you seem to think it is. You’ll be able to identify the food.”

“But…” Duo trailed off as he was dragged inside. There was no way of escaping this without causing a bigger scene and really destroying any remnants of his dignity.

“It’s going to be alright, Duo,” Zechs managed a smile, though his ice blue eyes were still sad. 

“Nothing’s alright anymore…” Duo mumbled softly. “It all went wrong, somehow. Again.”

“We’ll figure it out, kiddo.” Zechs murmured something to the hostess that came to seat them, and they were led to a small round table in the back; half hidden by a surprising profusion of plants and secluded enough to give them privacy from the few other diners.

By unspoken agreement, Dorothy and Zechs tucked him into the corner where he couldn’t escape without climbing over one or the other of them. Duo gave in and just let them arrange things. It was suddenly taking more energy than he had to spare to protest. Picking up his menu, he glanced blankly at the writing on it. 

“Duo… what do you want to eat?” Dorothy prompted softly, carefully putting one hand on his wrist. He blinked at her, and finally noticed that the waitress was watching him intently, and that there was a glass of water in front of him and various drinks in front of the other two. 

“I…” _Shit…what’s happening? I’m losing time now?_

“He’ll have the steak and a baked potato,” Zechs finally answered for him. “How do you want that cooked, Duo?”

“Huh?” He stared blankly at Zechs this time. 

“Medium,” The older man sighed and just finished ordering for him. The waitress nodded and walked away, throwing him suspicious glances over her shoulder.

“I think he’s crashing,” Dorothy said softly, right on the edges of his perception.

“It’s been coming for a while,” Zechs sighed. “It has just taken him longer than it did either of us, I think.”

“He had farther to fall.” 

Duo let their voices drift around him. 

* * *

Zechs threw Duo a worried look, as he seemed to sink farther into oblivion. He hadn’t responded to questions from either of them for a bit, and had barely noticed when the food arrived. Duo was eating automatically now, and Zechs doubted that he could even taste the steak. 

“It seems wrong to see him like this,” Dorothy spoke suddenly. “During the war, he always seemed so full of life.”

“I know,” Zechs sighed. _Okay, Treize, now what do I do? I’m out of my depth here._ But for once the ghost didn’t appear to offer any advice.

“And where the hell are his friends? Haven’t they even noticed? Or do they just not give a fuck about him now that they have found each other?”

“Right now, we are his friends,” Zechs shrugged. “I don’t know. I got through this. So did you. So will he.”

“Maybe.” She looked as if she would say more, but Duo suddenly started speaking. His voice was soft, and sounded almost broken as he told them what Une had said to him. 

“What am I gonna do?” Haunted eyes bruised dark purple with exhaustion met Zechs’ blue ones. “I… can’t go home to my apartment for two days. I can’t.”

“It’s okay, Duo. You don’t have to,” Dorothy said soothingly. “We’ll think of something.”

Duo blinked, and actually seemed to come back to them for a few minutes.

“Huh?”

“You slept the other night when I was in the same room,” Zechs said thoughtfully. “And you managed not to have any nightmares for almost four hours. Maybe it’s just sleeping alone that is the problem.”

“Yeah, well…” Duo flushed in embarrassment. “Hiring prostitutes to spend the night would get a little expensive after a while. And I don’t have a lot of other options.”

“You have two,” Zechs shrugged, and looked at Dorothy. After a startled moment, she nodded. 

“He’s right,” she managed. “You could come home with one of us.”

Duo just blinked at them both, his eyes wide. “Um… you guys are never home either.”

“Maybe we hate going home to silence and ghosts just as much as you do.” Zechs winced guiltily. _No offense, Treize._

‘None taken.’ The ghost sighed, wandering through one of the plants blocking them from the rest of the view. A moment later, Solo followed, his gray eyes wide as he stared around the restaurant in wonder. Zechs had the sneaking suspicion that Duo would have had the same look on his face if he hadn’t been so exhausted.

“Oh…” Duo just blinked at Zechs, looking oddly lost. Once again, Zechs was reminded of just how young the former pilot was. The hazed eyes were huge in his pale face, and he barely looked fourteen at the moment, much less the eighteen that he might truly be. He had started nervously playing with the end of the braid resting in his lap. “I… um… guess if you guys don’t mind. That would be good.”

“Then it’s settled,” Zechs smiled, amused at the blush that washed across Duo’s cheeks. Solo glared at Zechs, taking a protective stance behind his friend, and somehow managing to give the impression of being much older than Duo. “You will come home with me tonight, and we’ll see after that, alright?”

“Yeah,” Duo managed a sad smile. “One day at a time and all that, right?”

“Right.” Dorothy nodded. “It gets easier, Duo. You just have to stop wishing for the future and exist in the present.”

Something about that statement bothered Zechs, but he decided to worry about it later. Duo’s eyes were nearly crossed with exhaustion, and his head was starting to nod. He had the distinct feeling that Duo had reached the end of his rope and simply let go. _Either he trusts the two of us to catch him… or he just doesn’t give a damn anymore if he makes it through this._

Motioning the waitress silently, he held out a credit card. Dorothy frowned, looking like she meant to protest, but he just smiled sadly. 

“We’ve managed to get him to agree to go to sleep. I’d like to get him close to a bed before he catches his second wind and realizes that little fact.”

“True,” she sighed. “I’ll catch a cab, then, so that you don’t have to take me back to Headquarters first.”

He smiled at her, truly grateful for the understanding in her voice. “Thank you… for helping with him tonight.”

“He’s my only friend too.” She shrugged. “If we don’t help him, who will?”

Zechs hesitated. “He doesn’t have to be your only friend.”

“What?” Her head came up and she stared at him suspiciously, one forked brow arched questioningly.

“I know things have been strained between us.” He winced, looking almost embarrassed. “And I realized tonight that they don’t have to be. We worked well together once, even if it was for the wrong purpose. And… if we don’t want him to have to face this alone, then there is no reason that either of us should have to either.”

“Are you saying _you_ want to be friends with me as well?”

“It will certainly make things simpler,” he said quietly. “And yes, that is what I’m saying.”

She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, and then smiled. “I think I would like that.”

“Good.” He signed the credit card receipt, and then hauled Duo out of his chair and held him up with one arm around the younger man’s waist. “I would like that as well.”

She nodded, trailing after them silently as he maneuvered Duo out of the restaurant and into the car. Closing the door carefully, he turned to look at her. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you back to headquarters?”

“I think if I can’t manage to get there on my own, I’m in the wrong line of work.” She smiled. “I’m not the one you need to worry about tonight.”

“Thanks.” He started slowly around the car, still looking sad. “I…still…”

“Call me when he wakes up?” She shrugged, feeling oddly reluctant for the two to leave as well.

“I will.” He hesitated, then glanced back at her. “Dammit all. Dorothy?”

“Yes?”

“Come with us.”

“What?”

“Would you care to join us tonight? My place is rather small, but there is a comfortable couch. And I think it may take both of us to get him through this intact.”

She considered it for a long moment; then smiled again. “Why the hell not?”


	8. Partners in Crime

Dorothy woke up to bright sunlight streaming into her eyes and groaned. Turning her head to the side, she pried her eyes open and looked around in surprise. _Where the hell? Oh, yeah. Zechs’ apartment._ She rubbed her eyes and sat up, glancing around curiously. 

She hadn’t really paid that much attention to her surroundings when they had arrived the previous night. Both she and Zechs had been far more concerned with getting their companion into the large bed that appeared to be Zechs sole concession to comfort. Well, actually, the couch wasn’t that bad either, compared to some of the ones in the Preventers' lounge. Zechs hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights, just half carried Duo into the bedroom and dumped him on the bed. Dazed blue eyes had opened halfway, then simply closed again as Zechs tugged Duo’s boots off and started unknotting his tie.

“Do you need any help?” She had asked quietly, feeling rather unnecessary again. 

“I think I can manage. There are tee shirts in the drawer there, and sweats. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot else that might fit either of you.” She nodded, and dug through the indicated drawer to pull out two pairs. Leaving one pair on the bed beside him, she sighed. 

“In that case, I suppose I’d better leave this part to you.” She grinned. “Much as I might like to watch you strip him.” Zechs blinked up at her, and to her delight, had blushed. “Oh come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how good looking he is.”

“This is not merely a ploy to get him into my bed,” he growled.

“Of course not, or I would have had to kill you for taking advantage of him.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just pointing out that it’s not everyday a girl gets to watch one cute guy strip another.”

He scowled, if anything blushing even harder, and threw a pillow at her. “There are blankets in the hall closet. Make yourself at home.”

“I’ll manage, thanks,” She laughed softly, then sobered slightly. “Take care of him?”

“Of course.” He had nodded, understanding her need to lighten the mood a bit, and turned back to his task. Gathering up the clothes and the pillow, she had closed the bedroom door behind her. 

_Still, that would have been fun to watch_ , she mused to herself as she glanced at the clock. It was still early morning, and not even really time for any of them to report to the shift they were supposed to be on. 

Stretching, she glanced at the vidphone thoughtfully. _I wonder if Une will be surprised or suspicious if all three of us call in sick today? Screw it, I don’t really care. Duo is not waking up if I can help it._ Padding quietly to the bedroom door, she eased it open and peeked around the edge. The sight that greeted her made her smile widen. 

Duo was curled up, blissfully unconscious, in Zechs arms. The older man was awake, watching his companion sleep with a rather thoughtful bemusement. Hearing the faint noise from the door, light blue eyes glanced questioningly at her. Duo whimpered as his pillow tensed, and burrowed farther away from the light coming into the darker room from the half-open door. Slipping into the room, she hastily closed the door behind her and moved silently toward the bed. 

“What is it?” Zechs asked quietly.

“I was going to call in sick today. Want me to call in for you too? It might look rather odd, but— ” she gestured at the chestnut head buried against his shoulder. “I didn’t think we should either wake him up or leave him.”

“No. That’s fine. And I don’t care how odd it looks.” Zechs smiled bitterly. “They can think whatever they like.”

“That’s good to know.” Her own grin bordered on malicious. “Though somehow I don’t think Une is going to exactly spread the news of our alliance around. And no one else pays any attention to the two of us anyway.”

“True,” he smiled back, hesitating before finally adding,“ when you’re done, could you bring me a drink or something? I have the bad feeling I’m going to be here for a while.”

She threw him a mock glare. “Now I see why you invited me to spend the night. And why I had to sleep on the couch.”

“Hey, I promise to do the same for you when you’re playing teddy bear.”

“Alright.” She grinned at him again, feeling more lighthearted than she had in months. “Be back in a few.”

* * *

Zechs watched her leave the room, closing the door silently behind her. Duo hadn’t even stirred during their conversation. _Then again, he didn’t wake up when I was talking to Treize either._ Zechs sighed, shifting the younger man to a more comfortable position that wouldn’t put his arm to sleep again. 

The night hadn’t been completely peaceful, despite the current stillness of his bedmate. At least twice Zechs had woken to the sounds of whimpers and groans from Duo. Each time he’d managed to sooth the younger man out of his nightmare and back into a deeper sleep again; but after the second time, just before dawn, he’d been unable to fall back to sleep himself. 

Looking down at the face nestled against his shoulder, Zechs brushed long bangs out of closed eyes. _When did you start to trust me this much? To sleep in my arms and let me talk you through a nightmare? Or is it that you just don’t care anymore?_

Looking down at Duo, he found himself thinking about Dorothy’s comment that she found them both cute. For some reason, he found it oddly unsettling; as well as flattering. _Down, boy. This isn’t about getting him to fall in love with you. It’s about getting him to want to live again._

‘Glad that you finally figured that bit out.’ Treize smiled. ‘Though Dorothy was right, it was a lot of fun to watch you strip him.’

“Don’t you start...” 

“What?” Dorothy asked as she stepped back into the room bearing a tray with a pitcher of water and three glasses. To his amazement, she’d apparently made herself at home in the kitchen. _How long have I just been watching him sleep?_

“Nothing,” he muttered. “How did Une take the news of our sick day?”

“She made me promise that Duo wouldn’t show back up at the Preventers headquarters for at least forty-eight hours, even if that meant that neither did we.” Dorothy shrugged. “I think she’s actually genuinely worried about him.”

“Yes, well, so are we.” Zechs watched as she set the tray down on the end table and seated herself gracefully on the edge of the bed. Even dressed in an oversized tee shirt and baggy sweats, she still managed to move as though they were at a ball. 

“Were you aware you having nothing edible in your kitchen?” She poured two glasses of water, taking one for herself.

“I suppose that isn’t really a surprise. I’m not home much.” He sighed, and carefully began to wriggle out from under Duo. Several times he froze, as the young man made a sleepy sound of protest, but eventually Zechs was able to sit up and lean against the headboard. Duo immediately curled up at his side, his head resting in Zechs lap. Wincing, Zechs tried not to think about how attractive he did find Duo, and how dangerous that position was while Dorothy smirked at him in obvious enjoyment.

“Just wait. It’s going to be your turn eventually.”

“Looking forward to it, actually.”

“Of course you are.” 

She handed him a glass of water with a rueful smile. “Sorry, but it was either water or beer. The milk in your refrigerator snarled at me, so I thought I would leave it be.”

“Water will be fine,” he murmured. “I suppose I’d better make a trip to the store today.”

“Actually,” she shrugged. “I’ll go. I need to gather up some clothes anyway. I can bring lunch back with me,” she hesitated, flushing a little. “If that’s alright? I— if you don’t mind me staying the day.”

“I invited you to stay.” He reached out a hand to her, a little startled at the odd feeling that the three of them were supposed to stay together through this. “I’m hardly going to make you sleep on my couch, run errands and then leave.”

“Just so we have that straight.” She glared at him, dragging a little of her former attitude back to fill the suddenly awkward moment. He couldn’t help smiling at her, even as he understood the uncertainty in her blue eyes. 

“We have that straight.” He tried to sound suitably chastened. She snorted softly, sounding genuinely amused as well. 

“You know, I think this friendship thing might work out okay after all.”

“Me too.”


	9. Overlapping Triangles

‘I think he’s waking,’ Treize said, stepping through the shower curtain and nearly giving Zechs a heart attack. ‘Damn. I hate not having a body.’

“So do I…” Zechs growled. “If you had a body, I could punch you for scaring the crap out of me.” Turning off the hot water with a sigh, he reached for a towel. “What time is it?”

‘Time is irrelevant to the dead.’

“Treize…”

‘You know, you take all the fun out of being dead,’ Treize grumbled. ‘Scaring the crap out of people and being cryptic are part of the job description, you know.’

His only answer was a glare. Quickly toweling his long hair until it was only damp, not dripping, Zechs dragged on the clean jeans and tee shirt he had set out. 

‘It’s almost noon,’ Treize finally grumbled. 

“Thank you.” Zechs sighed, glancing out into the bedroom quickly before reaching for the brush. Despite Treize’s warning, there was no sign of movement from the lump under the covers. Duo hadn’t had another nightmare since dawn and Zechs had finally decided it was safe to leave him alone long enough to grab a shower. He had briefly thought about waiting until Dorothy returned with lunch to take a shower, but Treize had promised to keep an eye on the young ex-pilot for him. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to vanish during the day too?”

‘Merely a stereotype,’ Treize shrugged. ‘We’re just harder to see in daylight, so most don’t bother, I would imagine. But since you keep it like a cave in here, I saw no reason to leave.’

“Privacy issues, of course, have never meant anything to you either.”

‘Oh, are you planning to do something you don’t want me to see?’

“Would it matter if I was?”

‘Hmm. Probably not.’ 

Shaking his head, Zechs stepped back into the bedroom, only to meet wary blue eyes staring at him from the nest of blankets. “Good morning – or afternoon, rather.”

“Zechs?” Some of the panic left the younger man’s eyes as Duo shoved the covers back awkwardly and looked around. “Where…?”

“My apartment.” Zechs managed a smile. “You were too far gone to tell me where you lived, so we came here instead.”

“Oh,” Duo blinked, still looking rather disoriented. “I… guess that makes sense.”

“How do you feel?” Zechs sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully making no moves to touch the younger man. It was obvious that Duo remembered nothing of the night before, including snuggling his way into Zechs’ arms after the first nightmare.

“Like I got hit by a truck,” Duo said groggily. “And it’s a little disconcerting to wake up with no idea where you are and why.”

“Ah,” Zechs smiled. “I can see that.”

“So…uh…” Duo flushed in embarrassment. “What did happen last night?”

“What do you remember?” Zechs countered, leaning back against the headboard and starting to brush the tangles out of the mass of blond hair.

“I— did I actually argue with Lady Une?” Duo winced. “I had some really weird dreams last night, I think.”

“You did. She’s kicked you out of the office for two days, by the way.”

“I thought she was going to fire me,” Duo sighed. “Okay. And then you and Doro took me prisoner and dragged me to some four star restaurant with food that tastes like cardboard?”

“That happened too.” Zechs sighed. “Though I disagree with the food tasting like cardboard. You’ll have to try it again sometime when you’re actually conscious. It’s really a very good restaurant.’

“Uh, right,” Duo shook his head. “And…that’s it. Everything else had to be some kind of funky dream.” Zechs wasn’t quite sure what to make of the half embarrassed, half-guilty looks Duo was throwing in his direction while carefully not meeting his eyes.

“Since nothing _funky_ happened, I suppose I will agree with that too.” Zechs smiled faintly. “You fell asleep at the table, Dorothy and I brought you here. You managed to stay asleep, more or less, for about fourteen hours.”

“I did?” Duo looked almost stunned. “Damn. I haven’t managed to sleep that long without a nightmare in weeks.”

“You did have nightmares,” Zechs amended. “You just didn’t wake up.”

“Oh.” Duo blushed. “Sorry if I woke you up, or kept you up.” He suddenly threw Zechs a guilty look. “You didn’t stay awake that whole time, did you? Shit. I took your bed.”

“No.” Zechs smiled. “Despite what you think, I do have to sleep too. And we shared the bed, actually.” The smiled turned to a grin at the startled look on the younger man’s face. “Dorothy had the couch, so I was rather short on alternative options.”

“Oh…” Duo sighed, and rubbed one hand across his face. 

“Are you hungry?” Zechs asked, changing the subject slightly when Duo didn’t look inclined to either speak again or look at him. “Dorothy is bringing lunch back. I’m actually expecting her any minute.”

“Um…” Duo blinked, and then winced when his stomach answered Zechs’ question by growling loudly. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Zechs smiled, and stood up. “Then if you want, you are welcome to the shower. I’m afraid that the only clothes I have that might fit you though are the sweats and tee shirt that you’re already wearing.”

“That would be great.” Duo smiled, and glanced at him quickly, then blushed again. 

“Is there something wrong?” Zechs asked, curious in spite of himself. “You and I have been sharing an office for months. I didn’t think that spending the night at my apartment would be this disconcerting for you.”

“It’s not that. I—” Duo looked around the room, carefully avoiding Zechs eyes. “I just had some _really_ odd dreams. Probably just the exhaustion messing with my mind.”

“What kind of odd dreams?” Zechs asked casually. 

“Never mind.” Duo blinked, then scrambled awkwardly out of the bed. “Can I take that shower now? I’m still kind of skanky from the field, and sleeping in my clothes.” Zechs decided it was probably not the time to point out that Duo hadn’t slept in his own clothes.

“The bathroom’s through there, and extra towels are on the counter,” Zechs sighed, and stood up. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” Duo practically ran into the bathroom.

* * *

_God… could that have been any more pathetic?_ Duo scrubbed angrily at his long hair, even as he reveled in the fact that Zechs apparently used the expensive conditioner that Duo had always eyed rather longingly. _Well, yes. I suppose I could have actually blurted out that I dreamed about him, having sex with— God, I’m losing my mind. I have to be._ He stepped back under the steaming hot water and started rinsing out the long mane of chestnut hair. _He and Treize Khushrenada could not have been lovers._

“Duo?” Zechs called in through the closed bathroom door, and Duo jumped guiltily.

“Yeah?”

“Dorothy’s here with lunch, whenever you’re done in the shower.”

“O-okay,” Duo managed to call back. “Be out in a second.”

“Take your time.” 

_And I could not have found it really **hot**_. Duo sighed and turned off the water. _Oh hell. Who am I kidding? Damn. Wonder if Zechs really looks like that naked?_

Groaning softly, he grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower stall.

When he emerged from the bathroom, re-dressed in a rolled up pair of Zechs’ sweat pants and a tee shirt that reached halfway to his knees, Duo had managed to force the dream from his head. Mostly.

“Well, you look better this afternoon,” Dorothy grinned at him as he found his way to the living room. She and Zechs were setting out containers of Chinese takeout on the large glass coffee table. “Much less like an extra from Nightmare on Elm Street.”

“Thanks. I think.” He curled up in the corner of the couch, trying not to let his thoughts focus on the images of Zechs and Treize having sex on it that suddenly popped into his head. _Okay… I have now really gone over the bend. And they thought I was hallucinating in the field._ “Though I feel like a little kid in these clothes. I hate being short.”

“It could be worse…” Zechs grinned at him. “You could have spent the night at Dorothy’s last night. I doubt any of her clothes would fit you much better.”

“Hmm.” Dorothy eyed him thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’d say we could wear about the same size. Except in shoes, perhaps.” 

Duo felt his face flame again. “I have to agree with Zechs there. I could not wear your clothes.”

“In that case, you’d better remember to pack a bag when it’s my turn,” Dorothy shrugged, looking rather nonchalant.

“Your turn?” Duo asked, feeling suddenly lost.

“I’m afraid he doesn’t remember that conversation.” Zechs handed Duo a glass of soda and sat down in the armchair across from the couch that they were sitting on. “We were talking last night, about whether you would sleep better if someone was nearby. It was decided that you would go home with one or the other of us for a while, to see if it helped.”

“Oh.” Duo blinked, then looked from one to the other. “I…”

“You didn’t seem to mind the idea last night.” Dorothy smirked at the stunned look on his face. “And we don’t mind.”

“I… um.” Duo looked from one to the other of his new friends. “You guys do realize how much I appreciate you going out on a limb for me here?”

“Yes,” Dorothy grinned openly at him. “So don’t forget you owe us now, too.”

“Dorothy.” Zechs scowled at her in mock anger then smiled himself. 

“Men. No sense of humor,” she sighed; digging into the cardboard container in her hands with a fork. Duo smiled a little, and attacked his own food with more of an appetite than he‘d had for months.

* * *

Zechs glanced at his guests, seeing the same reluctance to break the oddly comfortable silence that he was feeling. Duo had set his empty container aside, and was curled up on the couch, an odd expression on his face. Dorothy was poking at the congealed sauce in her box with a fork and frowning.

“So I suppose we should talk about how we’re going to work this out,” he finally offered quietly. 

Duo flushed, and ducked his head. “I didn’t mean for you guys to have to rearrange your lives to babysit me.”

“It’s not babysitting.” Dorothy glanced up at him. “You are not allowed to bring any babies into my house. You can just stay at Zechs’ place.”

He blinked at her. Zechs just rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Duo, we don’t mind.” He smiled sadly at both of them. “It was nice to have someone else here.”

“Yeah. But I made you miss work, and woke you up pretty much all night.”

“If I ever mind, I’ll tell you.” Zechs shrugged. “Besides, if you go by the number of hours I’ve been putting in at work, I probably have several weeks worth of sick days saved. It obviously hasn’t killed me to take one. It’s kind of nice, actually.”

“Yeah…but…”

“Maxwell,” Dorothy interrupted quietly. “Let us help you. We want to. And you aren’t the only one benefiting here anyway. At least, I’m feeling that way.” Zechs just nodded solemnly. “We want to do this. So you might as well sit back and stop fighting.”

“Yes ma’am.” Duo rolled his eyes.

“Good. Now that that’s out of the way, are we staying here tonight too? Or am I taking you guys home with me?”

Zechs looked at Duo. “What would you prefer? I don’t mind if you want to stay here again, and I don’t mind if you want to go to Dorothy’s. Or we can go to your place and stay there tonight.” 

Duo just blinked at them, a little startled. “We?”

“This has become a group effort, Duo.” Dorothy shrugged. “Zechs and I decided we’d spent long enough alone. And we both think you have. So—”

“God…” Duo shook his head. “This is like the most warped version of the three musketeers. Ever.”

“And that’s a bad thing? I rather like being warped.” Dorothy smirked at them. “It beats being a sheep and following the flock.”

“Besides,” Zechs added thoughtfully. “This is rather your fault.”

“My fault?” Duo frowned. “How is this my fault?”

“You are the one that insisted on dragging us out of our self imposed isolation. Deal with it.”

“Beware, for ye shall reap what you sow…” Duo muttered. “It doesn’t matter to me where we spend the night. I guess.”

“Good. Though actually, we should probably stay here,” Dorothy shrugged. “I imagine this is the only place of the three that actually has food in it at the moment.”

“There is that.” Zechs sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be the last of the short chapters for a while, so I may end up only posting one a day from now on.


	10. Sensory Overload

“So this is Chez Maxwell, hmm?” Dorothy asked as she followed Duo into the tiny apartment.

“It’s what?”

“Your place.”

“I hope so, or we just walked into some stranger’s living room.” He managed a wan smile. “It’s mine. It just doesn’t feel like home.” The feeble attempt at a smile faded. “Not that I know what a home is supposed to feel like, since I never had one before.”

“You’ve never lived alone before?” she asked quietly. 

“I’ve been alone a lot. It was just always on the streets or something. The closest thing to a home I ever knew was Maxwell Church.” They both winced at the mention of the church. “Well, and hanging with Howard and the rest of the Sweepers.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago, Dorothy. Stop apologizing.” He shrugged and moved farther into the living room. “Make yourself at home, but watch out for the couch—” He broke off, glancing over his shoulder in time to see her sit down on the couch and then squirm away from the lumps. “Oops.”

“I can see why you haven’t invited us to spend the night here,” she sighed. “And I thank you for that.”

“Um…yeah. I figured that my place was a little too small.” 

Cool blue eyes studied him for a moment, and he had the sinking feeling she realized what he had been about to say instead.

“Duo, you do realize that you seem to have some misguided notion that we give a fuck about having been born rich?” He winced at the blunt words, and her eyes narrowed. “The fact that you lived on the streets does not bother either of us nearly as much as it seems to bother you.”

_Maybe not, but it does bother me._ Not for the first time, he wondered why he kept the apartment at all, when he never wanted to come home. _‘Cause I don’t want my new friends to think I’m a leech? Yeah, they’re letting me stay with them, but it’s only until I start sleeping more, right?_

“Bah, men,” she sighed, throwing up her hands. “Just wait until you see my place. I think the couch I inherited from my grandmother might actually be more uncomfortable than this one. Antique and expensive does not automatically equate into more comfortable. Which is one reason why we’re staying with Zechs at the moment.” 

Fortunately, she had her back turned to him and didn’t see the slow blush fading across his face as he thought of Zechs’ couch. _God… why did I have to start losing my mind now?_

He made a noncommittal noise as he retreated into the bedroom and started gathering spare uniforms and clothing into the two military duffel bags that had been stuffed onto the top shelf of his closet. Glancing around the room, he suddenly realized that there were almost no other personal belongings in it. Without consciously deciding it, he gathered up the few other items strewn around and stuffed them into one of the packs. _Should I consider it sad or convenient that my entire life fits into two bags?_

Glancing around the room once more, he felt only numb at the realization that it was for the last time. He made a quick detour into the bathroom for his toiletries, though part of his brain pointed out that it would be nicer to keep using Zechs’.

Stepping out of the room, he flinched at the sight of Dorothy leafing slowly through the Book. She glanced up at him, looking sad again. He ducked his head and picked up the few things in the living room that meant anything to him. She didn’t comment as he stuffed them into the second duffel, just handed him the book as he hesitated by the coffee table.

“You aren’t coming back here.” It was more of a statement than a question. 

He bit his lip, looking vaguely guilty. “I… um…”

“I understand,” she said quietly, with a shrug. “I feel the same way about my own place. I inherited it from my Grandfather, along with a lot of old baggage. It will be a little harder for me to leave it behind, though.”

“You think Zechs will mind?”

She raised one eyebrow. “You might want to consider telling him before you just move in. I intend to. But I doubt he’s going to be surprised. Or upset.”

“Maybe…”

She smiled, still looking sad. “Come on. He’s going to be waiting dinner on us soon.”

***

Duo glanced around in awe as he stepped into the museum that Dorothy called a home. Every nook and cranny was filled with antiques, and he didn’t even have to touch them to know that they were all extremely valuable. 

“You live here?” He couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.

“Only when I can’t avoid it,” she muttered. “Make yourself at home. I just want to grab a few things before we head back to Zechs’ place.”

He wandered around the massive sitting room as she vanished up the large curved staircase. Something on the top shelf of a large curio cabinet caught his eye, and with a half guilty look back at the empty staircase, he opened the door. Picking up one of the tiny ceramic horses, he rubbed one finger softly over the delicate paint of its mane; and nearly dropped it in shock at the images that ran through his head. 

_Sitting on the rug, in front of the large fireplace, where the pattern on the floor makes a perfect corral for the herd of ceramic horses… so pretty… running free … wish I was free to run…_

_“Dorothy! What do you think you are doing?” Dropping one of the horses in startled horror… guilt as the leg snapped…shoving it quickly beneath the couch as she turned to face the stern woman staring down at her. “How many times have I told you not to touch anything in this room? And now you’ve lost one! Do you know how old these are?” The horses were scooped up, and carefully placed on the highest shelf, far out of reach of the young girl standing guiltily behind her grandmother._

_“Yes Grandmama…”_

_“These are not toys, young lady. Now go to your room…”_

Coming back to himself with a start, he shoved the horse back onto the shelf and quickly closed the door. _What the hell?_ But he couldn’t help glancing at the rest of the room. Duo was never sure quite what impulse made him kneel next to the couch and look under it quickly. _It was just my imagination…_ But the reassuring words fell silent at the sight of the tiny horse with the broken leg. _Oh God. I am losing my mind._

He scrambled to his feet, staring around the room in silent panic. The silence was now filled with a cacophony of shouts and arguments, scoldings and screaming. He closed his eyes against the images flooding them. _What is wrong with me? How is it happening again? I thought it was just the suits that we had salvaged-- that I would hear the screams of the men dying in them every time I touched them. But now it’s happening again._

“Duo?” He whirled around, breathing hard as he stared at Dorothy. She was standing behind him with a small bag in her arms. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he smiled. “Nothing. Just estimating how much I could fence all this stuff for…”

“If you want it, it’s yours.” She scowled around the room. “I can’t stand most of it.”

“Well, ready to go?” He asked, trying to ignore the panic he’d felt a moment before. “Need me to carry anything?”

“I think I have it,” she said dryly. “Shall we get the hell out of the mausoleum? I’m starving.”

“Me too.” He couldn’t help throwing a last nervous glance over his shoulder as he followed her out of the room.

***

Zechs pulled the covers back and sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. Dinner had been a rather silent affair, with all of them lost in thoughts about the next day back at work. It felt more like weeks had passed than two days. He glanced around, to see Duo hesitating in the doorway. 

“I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor,” Duo muttered, continuing the one argument that they’d had the previous night.

“And I really don’t mind you having half of the bed.” Zechs frowned. “What’s wrong, Duo?”

“Nothing.” Duo managed a grin. “Guess I’m not used to other guys asking me to sleep with them.”

“Does that bother you? That I’m a guy?” Zechs looked surprised. “You can share the bed with Dorothy, and I’ll take the couch if that will make you more comfortable with the idea.” Duo blinked, and then blushed again. It was something that Zechs had noticed him doing a lot the last few days, and it still managed to surprise him each time. 

“N-no… it’s not that.”

“Oh? What is it then?”

“Nothing. I’m just nervous about tomorrow, that’s all.” Duo shrugged and dived under the covers on his side of the bed. “Night.”

“Goodnight.” Shaking his head a little ruefully, Zechs turned out the light and crawled under the covers on his own side; and then blinked when he realized that there was still light in the room. Glancing around, he started and nearly fell out of the bed when he realized that the light was coming from Solo. The ghost was sitting cross-legged in the space between Duo and Zechs, facing Zechs and glaring. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he leaned up on one elbow.

_‘What?’_

Solo scowled at him, still refusing to speak.

_‘Look, he’s my friend. I’m not going to lay a hand on him, so stop glaring at me.’_

‘You touched him before.’

“What?” Zechs was startled enough that the ghost finally spoke to him, that he forgot to speak silently.

‘Last night. You touched him.’

_‘He was having a nightmare. And he was the one that crawled into my arms.’_

Solo shrugged, and suddenly his appearance changed. He now looked slightly older than Duo, though the ragged, half-starved look had not changed. ‘You want to touch him.’

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” 

“Huh? Zechs?” Duo rolled over and looked at him.

“Go to sleep Duo. It’s okay.”

“Sure…” Duo stared blearily at him. “Who’re you talking to?”

“Just ghosts.” 

“Oh.” Zechs smiled as Duo’s eyes closed again. “Wish my ghosts could talk to me…”

“So do I.” He winced at the raw pain and longing on Solo’s face, as the ghost shivered, then vanished. “God, kid, so do I.”


	11. Double Edged Blades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally, all the pieces start to fall into place.

Duo sighed, glancing up from the file in front of him and rubbing his eyes wearily. Zechs was frowning off into space, obviously lost in thought. _Damn, I feel like I’ve been asleep for most of the last week. You’d think I’d never get tired again._ But he could feel the familiar exhaustion nagging at him. Yawning, he staggered to his feet and headed for the coffee maker.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Zechs asked quietly. 

“Look, I appreciate you guys helping me out and letting me crash with you, but I don’t need you to…” Anger battled with the fatigue for a moment, momentarily winning over the exhaustion.

“You didn’t sleep well last night,” his partner sighed, and then continued the confession. “Dr. Po sent me an email. She said that right now, any stimulant after 3 p.m. could make it harder for you to sleep at night.”

“Dammit…” Duo growled and threw himself back into his chair. “And did she mention how I’m supposed to function with the mother of all caffeine withdrawal migraines?” 

“No,” Zechs threw him a sheepish look. “I think that bit is her revenge for you ignoring her orders.”

“And what the hell is she doing emailing you about me?” Duo ignored him and continued his rant. “Just because I’m crashing at your place, does that mean everyone has assumed we’re sleeping together? Cause—”

“We _are_ sleeping together,” Zechs growled back. “We’re just not having sex. And she emailed me because you’ve ignored the last five she sent you.” There was a brief pause. “And I don’t think it’s an assumption everyone is making, since only Une and Dr. Po seem to have clued to where you’re living now. Or that Dorothy is living there too.”

Duo suddenly gave up his argument, slumping over to rest his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. “I just want things to be normal again.”

“When your body figures out that it’s getting enough sleep, they will be.”

“I am trying really hard to sleep…” Duo sighed. “You know I am. I keep you up half the night when I fail. It’s just— if I’m not having nightmares, then I’m having really weird dreams that… I… _Fuck_.” 

“What are these dreams you keep having? All you say is that it isn’t a nightmare, but honestly, I can’t tell the difference from outside your head.”

“I can’t tell you…” The answer was muffled by his hands.

“Duo…”

“I— I can’t.”

“Are they about Solo?”

“What?” Duo’s head shot up and he stared at Zechs in horror. “How did you know about Solo?”

 _I finally got him to talk to me._ Zechs shrugged. “You mistook me for him one night.”

“Shit.” The words were muffled again. “Please tell me I haven’t started talking in my sleep.”

“Not a lot…”

“Oh God.” Duo turned bright red and bolted out of the office, leaving Zechs staring after him in shock. 

“What’s up with him?” Dorothy asked, stepping into the office while looking over her shoulder at the virtual vapor trail Duo had left behind.

“We were having a small disagreement over his need for coffee, and I asked him about his dreams. He still won’t tell me what’s freaking him out so much, and he’s stopped sleeping well at night again.”

“Hmm.” Dorothy sat down in Duo’s abandoned chair. “Maybe he’s still having the hallucinations that his last partner accused him of.”

“What?” Zechs stared at her. “Why do you think that?”

“I think something happened a… a few days ago. When we were at my house.” Dorothy looked uncomfortable. “He wouldn’t say what was wrong, but when I got back downstairs, he was white as a sheet and breathing hard.”

“And you’re just now telling me this?” Zechs growled. 

“I was hoping to give him time to decide to trust us before I started blabbing his secrets to you.” Dorothy glared back at him, undaunted. “But I just wondered if you’d noticed anything odd.” 

“No…” Zechs frowned. “Not really. But he does seem extremely reluctant to go anywhere near your place.”

“I had noticed that,” she said unhappily. “Maybe I should leave you guys alone for a few nights?”

“No.” Zechs shook his head. “I don’t think changing anything drastically at this point will work.” 

“You think we should go after him?”

“Yeah…” Zechs heaved himself out of his chair. “Though he may not want to talk to me since I’m the one that apparently upset him.” 

***

“Hey.” Zechs sat down on the other end of the couch from Duo. It had taken longer than he’d liked to find the younger man, and he’d finally resorted to asking Treize where he’d retreated. Duo was curled up in the otherwise empty lounge on the third floor. Since the third floor housed only the record rooms, most people weren’t even aware the lounge was there, much less ever used the corner room.

“Hey.” Duo didn’t look up at him or at Dorothy as she settled herself into a chair nearby.

“You want to tell us what that was all about?” Zechs asked finally.

“Other than me making a complete idiot of myself? No.”

“Duo,” Zechs sighed. “You aren’t an idiot. Stretched a little thin and very stressed, but not an idiot.”

“I’m losing my mind, Zechs.”

“Then you’re in good company,” Dorothy said with a bitter smile. “I did tell you a while ago that hanging out with me was not a sign of sanity.”

“I’m serious.” Duo looked up, and his eyes were haunted. 

“So am I.” 

“Hey,” Zechs interrupted quietly. “None of us are candidates for the sanity poster child. But that doesn’t mean you’re losing your mind. Talk to us Duo.”

“I- it’s stupid.”

“So?” Zechs pressed, seeing Treize settle into space near the couch. “I doubt anything you could say will shock us.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Duo said darkly, resting his head on his arms again.

“Try us,” Dorothy urged, dropping her normal attitude.

“The reason Une took me out of the field, is that I keep… hallucinating. Or something.” Duo shivered.

“What do you see, Duo?” Zechs asked soberly, seeing the same concern on Treize’s face.

“That’s what I really don’t want to tell you guys.” The words were a soft mutter. “Please, Zechs.”

“Duo.” Zechs hesitated, not sure how to ask the next question. “Did you ever… were you ever in Epyon? Or did you ever use the Zero system?” Duo’s head snapped up, and Zechs was aware that Dorothy was also staring at him in shock.

“What?” Duo blinked, looking suddenly wary. “Why?”

“Because if the answer is yes, you aren’t losing your mind,” Zechs said sadly. 

There was silence for a long moment. “Both,” Duo finally muttered. 

“Why?” Dorothy asked, but it was hard to tell which of them she had directed the question towards.

“When I was captured, the second time, it was after you’d left Oz,” Duo’s eyes flickered towards Zechs. “Some Colonel— Trant or something, he had a new mobile suit he wanted to test, but his men kept dying. I guess I had test pilot stamped on my forehead or something.” The young man shivered, curling up tighter into the corner of the couch. “I can’t tell you guys this, you’re the only ones that still talk to me.”

“We aren’t going to stop either,” Zechs muttered fiercely. “No matter what you tell us you’re seeing.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Duo whispered suddenly. 

“I am. Trust me. What about the Zero system?”

“I used it once. I couldn’t use it, only Heero and Quatre ever managed to control it…”

“Zechs, what does this have to do with anything?” Dorothy asked grimly.

‘You might as well tell them,’ Treize said softly. ‘It may be the only way to get him to tell you what he’s seeing. And I really think we need to know.’

“Yeah,” Duo sighed. “It’s been a long time, Zechs. I hardly think that’s got anything to do with why I suddenly can’t sleep.”

“I’m not so sure,” Zechs responded, keeping his voice even with an effort. “Treize has a theory… that the Epyon AI somehow changes anyone that uses it.”

“Huh?” Two pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. “Changes them how?” Duo looked dubious, then stunned, as the rest of the words sank in. “Waitaminute. Treize _has_ a theory? Treize is dead, isn’t he?” He stared at Zechs. “Maybe I’m not the only one losing his mind.”

“No.” Zechs shook his head. “Treize is very much dead.” 

“So…he told you this before he died? Or left you a letter or something, right?” Duo blinked at him uncertainly. Zechs just sighed. Duo paled. “Then when you told me you were just talking to ghosts…”

“I was.” Zechs looked away from them, suddenly unable to meet either of their gazes. “I— he says it’s because of Epyon— that I can still see him. And talk to him. And he’s not the only one.” He glanced up at the strangled sound from Dorothy. She was staring at her clenched hands in something like shock. “I thought that it was just my own guilt taking his form, but it turned out, not so much.”

Dorothy looked up, her gaze oddly intent. “What made you decide you weren’t crazy?”

“I started seeing Solo. One of Duo’s ghosts.”

She looked blank, but Duo suddenly threw himself off the couch, looking like he was going to bolt again.

“Duo—please,” Zechs caught his wrist. “You have to…”

“I have to what?” Duo shook his head. “I— why can’t _I see him_ , then? Why, dammit?”

“I don’t know—except that I don’t think Epyon changed anyone in the same way.”

“So. You see people that are dead,” Duo muttered, then almost reluctantly turned his head to Dorothy. Zechs followed his gaze, and swore softly. The blonde woman was rocking slightly, shaking her head. “Doro?”

“It— it didn’t tell me,” she moaned. “It said no one else could hear, no one else would talk to it.”

“Who?” Zechs felt his stomach twist at the look on her face. 

“I—thought I was—crazy too,” she laughed bitterly, and there was a faint note of hysteria in her voice. “Except that—”

“Dorothy, who?” Zechs let go of Duo, and moved over to crouch in front of her. “It’s okay. Just tell us.”

“Epyon.” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “I still talk to Epyon.”

“Oh God.” Duo sat down suddenly. “We are so seriously fucked up!”

“Duo…” Zechs sighed, and leaned forwards to wrap his arms around Dorothy. “Doro, hey, don’t break down on us now, girl. You aren’t going crazy, either of you.”

“Yeah, or it’s driving us all insane at the same time,” Duo muttered. “God, I wish he’d never built the damned thing.”

“So does he,” Zechs sighed. “But he did, and we have to figure out how to deal with the consequences.”

‘How can she still talk to Epyon?’ Treize frowned. ‘The suit and the AI were destroyed, and so was the Mobile Doll System when the Peacemillion rammed the Libra. How could a computer have a ghost?’

‘Maybe you were a better engineer than you thought and accidentally gave it a soul when you gave it the power to see the future.’

“Dorothy, come on, talk to us…” Zechs tugged her over to the couch to sit between he and Duo. To his relief, the younger man came out of his shock enough to wrap his arm around her too. “How did Epyon survive the Libra’s destruction?”

“I—saved it. I think.” She shrugged. “Why do you think I stabbed Quatre? He was trying to kill it. And— it was so scared of dying.”

“But Epyon was the suit. The doll system was only a corruption.”

“Romefeller.” She took a deep breath. “When I first tried using the system, in Brussels, I had trouble using it. I know Treize had made it for me, but it, we couldn’t communicate quickly enough.”

“I know,” Zechs nodded. “I remember. I had the same problem.”

“The scientists working on the Mobile Doll System figured out that there had to be an interface. They engineered some way to make it work, and implanted the interface into me. I ran— to you, and White Fang. And to where Epyon was.”

“But…”

“Epyon could see the future, all possible futures. It saw that the only futures where it could survive destruction, was to merge with both doll system and the interface. When the suit started taking damage, it downloaded itself into the mobile doll system. And then started downloading into the interface. It was only partly done when Quatre reached me. I— I bought it a little more time, but it was still only partly finished when the system was destroyed. I— thought it had been destroyed too. But I think it managed to download part of itself into the interface.”

“But why?”

“We were one. And both of us were afraid of dying.” She managed a bitter smile. “We hadn’t learned then that death might have been kinder.”

“Where is it now?”

“Promise me you won’t hurt it.” She gripped his arm tightly. “I know it’s caused so much damage. But it’s changed too…”

“Dorothy—”

“Promise me, both of you.”

“We promise,” Zechs sighed. “Duo?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Not much point now, the damage is done, right?”

Her smile twisted, as she pointed above them, towards her office. “It’s in my computer, when it isn’t in my head.”

“Shit, Une is gonna flip her lid,” Duo muttered, frowning a little.

“If she finds out.” Zechs shook his head. “She’s not exactly sane herself thanks to that thing. I don’t think it’s in the best interests of anyone for her to find that bit out quite yet. Not until we figure out the ramifications of this mess.”

“Damn.” Duo squeezed her shoulders again, then leaned back, rubbing his head wearily. “This is not helping my headache any, that’s for sure.” 

“I’m sorry, Duo.” Zechs glanced over Dorothy’s bent head at the younger man. “But now we really need to know what you’re seeing, and if it’s caused by Epyon too.”

“I know.” Duo pressed his palms over his eyes. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you that you’re probably not going to like it.”

“I won’t.” Zechs tried to steel himself, not sure what to expect.

“Um… before I tell you anything,” Duo flushed uncomfortably and looked longingly at the door. “You and Treize. You guys were pretty close, huh?”

“Yes,” Zechs answered, startled by the question. “The best of friends, until I mistakenly thought he’d betrayed me.”

“But it was more than that, right?” Duo pressed. “You guys were… really close.”

Zechs went still. “Yes.”

Duo just nodded, and curled up against the arm of the couch. “I kinda got that idea.”

‘No one knew that, not even Lady Une.’

“When I was a kid, we had to steal to eat, right? Solo said I was the best pickpocket he’d ever seen, ‘cause I always seemed to be able to tell what would be valuable. Just by touching it. I just knew, you know?” He glanced at them. “I never thought about it, it was just— I thought everyone could do it. And it was always kind of vague. Nothing specific, just a— a feeling.” As if called, Solo suddenly appeared perched on the arm of the couch Duo was leaning against. He glared briefly at Zechs, but didn’t speak.

After a moment, Duo kept talking. “But during one of the battles a board in Deathscythe fried, and I got a pretty big jolt of current. After that, I always piloted in gloves, so I didn’t notice anything weird until after the war. When I was doing salvage with Hilde. Whenever I touched the suits, I would hear the screams of the men that died in them, or… or hallucinate about what they must have seen just before they died.” He threw them a haunted look. “Now I think I was seeing what they saw. But at the time, I didn’t know what was wrong. I just knew that I didn’t want to touch the suits. After a few months, I couldn’t even bear to go to the yard. I thought I was losing it… finally cracking. And then Noin and Hilde hooked up and they left for Mars. Hilde had finally figured out that we weren’t good for each other and that the salvage yard was never gonna be a thing.” He broke off, and stared blankly at the wall, his head turned away from them. “It was kind of a relief. I’ve always hated lying; ever since the Church… I lied to Sister Helen as she died, telling her she was gonna be okay.”

“Duo…” Dorothy squirmed around in Zechs arms until she could hold onto Duo as he had done for her a few minutes before.

“Yeah. Anyway, Trowa asked me to join Preventers with him and we moved here. And everything was… pretty normal, I guess. Until the school shooting.”

“Hmm. So it wasn’t until you stopped sleeping that you started having the hallucinations in the field?”

“Maybe.” Duo shrugged. “Or I just hadn’t touched anything that had been important to anyone. I… I think I only pick up intense emotion, ‘cause I’ve touched lots of stuff and nothing’s happened, even now.” He frowned. “I kind of got the feeling that strong emotions were a big part of it.”

“You touched something in my house, didn’t you?” Dorothy asked quietly. “You looked like you were in shock, or had seen a ghost or something.” She winced. “No offense Zechs. By the way, Treize is in here, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Zechs sighed, watching Duo for a long moment before adding, “so is Solo.”

“Solo?” Duo looked around him almost desperately, as if sheer desire could make the phantom visible. “Where?”

“He’s sitting next to you.”

“Duo… what did you see?” Dorothy asked reluctantly.

“I touched one of the horses… the painted horses in the cabinet.” He didn’t look at her. “I didn’t know what was happening, but all of a sudden, there were all these overlapping voices, and shouts. I… I thought I was just… you know… but then I looked under the couch, and I found the broken horse you had hidden there.”

“There was a lot of shouting in that house.” Dorothy shuddered. “It would probably be a bad idea for you to spend much time there. I… suspect most of the things in that house have been touched with strong emotion.”

“Yeah,” Duo nodded. “I much prefer Zechs’ place, even with…”

“Even with what?” Zechs asked, puzzled. “I can’t think of anything you would sense in my apartment, I don’t have much that has sentimental value…” He broke off suddenly. “Oh. _Hell_.”

Duo peeked at him, and sighed. “Yeah. That would be…uh…why I asked about Treize. I wasn’t sure I believed you guys were… really…” 

“What am I missing here? Oh, you guys didn’t...” Dorothy sounded as if she was caught somewhere between laughter and horror.

“Apparently, sex is also a strong emotion.” Duo winced, and looked back down. Zechs felt as though his face was on fire. 

“Yes.” Forcing himself to sound casual was easier when he caught sight of the expression on Treize’s face, since then it took all of his concentration not to start laughing. “You know, I think this has to be the first time I’ve ever seen him blush.”

“Great, I’ve even managed to embarrass the dead. Now do you see why I didn’t want to tell you guys this?”

“Damn, Duo, I’ll trade you.” Dorothy scowled. “Bet it was pretty interesting watching though, huh?”

Duo covered his eyes again, though he was finally starting to see the humor in the situation. “You’re the one with the link to Epyon. Ask it to fix this, or switch things. Then I could talk to Solo, you could play voyeur and Zechs could… um…try not to touch anything.”

“Don’t think it works that way.” She sighed. “I suppose that means you want the couch from now on?”

“I don’t think it would help.” Duo couldn’t help grinning at the look on Zechs face. 

“The couch too?” Dorothy couldn’t smother the laughter any longer. “And you have been letting me sleep on it? Zechs!”


	12. Into the Dreamscape

Zechs woke at the soft, muffled groan from his right. Opening his eyes, he glanced over to see that Duo had curled into a tight ball at his side. He tried to ignore the little voice that missed the way Duo normally snuggled closer in his sleep, as he rolled over to touch the younger man’s shoulder.

“Duo…” 

There was no response except a faint whimper as Duo curled even tighter into himself. 

“Hey— wake up, Duo. It’s okay. Wake up.” Zechs stared helplessly at his friend for a moment, and then simply wrapped his arms tightly around the younger man. “Shhh. Easy, kiddo, come on it’s okay now…”

“Another bad dream?” Dorothy asked from the doorway, shoving long blond hair behind one shoulder. 

“Second one tonight.” Zechs freed one hand and started stroking Duo’s hair. The younger man was trembling in his arms, and Zechs was more than a little worried. “Dammit, I thought it was getting better.”

Dorothy sighed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “He’s still not sleeping as much as he should, and whether he’ll admit it or not, he’s still depressed about the fact that none of his former friends have even noticed that he moved out of his apartment two weeks ago.” 

“Cut them a little slack,” Zechs sighed, though he wasn’t feeling particularly charitable towards Duo’s friends either. “Yuy and Barton left for L3 on an extended mission before Duo officially gave up the apartment. And Winner and Chang have been on L4 for nearly that long.”

“Fine. I’ll give them slack until they get back to earth. If they still don’t notice, all bets are off.” She reached out to smooth Duo’s bangs back from his eyes. Duo flinched, and spoke for the first time.

“Sister…I’m sorry… sorry…was too late… I tried…”

“Duo, it’s just a bad dream,” Dorothy soothed.

‘It’s not a dream,’ Solo growled, glowing brightly as he appeared next to the bed. ‘It’s a memory.’

“He’s reliving it in his sleep, that makes it a dream,” Zechs snapped at the ghost. “If you’re going to hover, do something constructive and tell me how to make this easier on him.”

“Solo?” Dorothy looked a little disconcerted. “He’s here?”

“Yes.” Zechs glared at the ghost. The ghost glared back, then suddenly sighed and just looked sad. 

‘Open his hand.’ 

“What?”

‘His hand…’ Solo gestured at Duo’s fist where it was clenched tightly around his braid— and something metallic. Zechs frowned, but did as the ghost asked and gently but firmly pried Duo’s hand open. The young man shuddered, and relaxed slightly as an antique cross slipped from between his fingers onto the sheets. Dorothy gasped slightly, taking the suddenly lax fingers in hers to rub the red marks that the cross had left on his palm.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Zechs blinked, picking up the cross gingerly.

‘The nun…’ Solo shrugged. ‘She was still ‘live when he got to th’ church. Died in ‘is arms. She gave it to him, so he’d remember.’ The apparition sat down on the edge of the bed, and reached out a hand to touch Duo; Zechs winced at the pain on his face when his fingers disappeared into Duo’s arm. A moment later, the ghost vanished again. Zechs rubbed his finger over the worn metal surface and sighed bitterly. 

“The nun at the Maxwell church gave it to him as she died.” He shook his head, repeating Solo’s words to Dorothy. “So he’d remember. I’d say it’s working.”

“It had to have been charged with a hell of a lot of emotion. What the fuck is he doing trying to sleep with it on?” Dorothy looked suddenly furious. “No wonder he has nightmares.”

“Calm down,” Zechs sighed, handing the cross to Dorothy and gathering Duo up into his arms. “Duo, wake up.”

“Hmmm?” Duo stirred awake, wincing a little as he tried to flex his hand. “Whassup…?”

“You, finally,” Dorothy muttered. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, shit. Yeah. Another nightmare? Sorry guys.”

“It’s alright.” Zechs smiled a little sadly. “But we’re gonna have to talk about you sleeping with things that people gave you as they died, kid.”

“Huh?” Duo blinked, still looking disoriented and more than half-asleep. “What things?”

“This.” Dorothy held up the cross. Duo suddenly flushed. 

“Shit! I’m an idiot.” He looked down, and seemed to realize for the first time that he was curled up in Zechs’ arms while Dorothy was holding his hand. He tensed a little, then relaxed fractionally again. “I didn’t even think. I’ve had that for so long. I’ve always slept with it, especially whenever I was depressed or lonely.”

“You’re not an idiot.” Zechs scowled down at him, letting go a little so that Duo could sit up. “You’re just a creature of habit like the rest of us.” 

“Yeah, but my habits are screwing up you guys being able to sleep.” Duo looked at them in embarrassment. “I really am sorry.”

“We forgive you,” Zechs shrugged. “We really aren’t upset that you woke us up.”

Dorothy just nodded her agreement, tightening her fingers as he started to pull his hand away. “Though if you feel really guilty, you can make it up to us.”

“Oh?” Duo threw her a wary look. “How?”

“Talk to us…” She threw him a sad look. “For someone who talks as much as you do, you keep everything _real_ locked up inside. Let us in?”

“I…” He laughed a little. “I’ll try.” 

“That’s all we can ask.” Zechs sat up the rest of the way, leaning back against the padded headboard; though part of him regretted that Duo had moved out of his arms once he woke up. Great, I’m getting as bad as Dorothy is.

“Thought I was the one throwing the rocks.” Duo glanced up at Dorothy with a half-smile as he leaned back, not appearing to notice that he was resting against Zechs’ shoulder again. The older man smiled a little, both amused and saddened that Duo would find comfort in touch without realizing it. Taking a chance, he wrapped one arm casually around the slender waist. Duo seemed to be oblivious, as he stared moodily down at the braid pooling in his lap. “So what’d you guys want to know?”

They looked at each other, not sure what to ask now that they’d gotten him willing to talk.

“Tell us about Solo,” Zechs asked softly. “He cares so much about you. Was he your brother?”

Duo looked surprised, like he’d expected questions about the massacre instead. But Zechs didn’t want to remind him of that so soon after the nightmare. It had worried him when Duo didn’t wake up. There was silence for a moment, and then Duo started speaking softly. His free hand closed tightly around the braid in his lap, tugging on it nervously.

“Brother, father, mother. He was everything.” Duo shrugged. “I don’t know if we were really brothers. He was just… always there, since I can remember. Taking care of us.”

“Us?” Dorothy prompted softly.

“The rest of the gang. A buncha kids, most even littl’r than me…” Zechs noticed for the first time, that when he thought of Solo, he talked with the same odd accent that the ghost did. “I vaguely r’member some older kids when I was really small. But most of the… mostly it was just Solo that took care of us. He taught us to steal food ‘n stuff, and how to avoid the bad gangs. Told us stories, bandaged scraped knees an… worse.” Duo broke off, suddenly. “He’s not listening to this, is he?”

“No.” Zechs smiled faintly. “He left already, when you woke from the nightmare.”

“I miss him so much.” Duo sighed. “Wish I could see him.”

“I know.” Zechs hugged the young man carefully. “I wish you could see how much he still cares for you.”

“He promised, you know.” 

“Promised what?”

“That… he would never leave me.” A single tear slipped down Duo’s cheek. “We knew he was gonna die. Everyone who got sick in the plagues was dying… and he told me, that I had to promise to be strong, an take care of the really little kids. And in return, he promised me that he would always be there with me.”

No one spoke for a bit, not sure what to say. Duo sniffed once, as Dorothy’s hand tightened on his. Zechs just hugged the younger man closer to him. 

“Zechs?”

“Yes?”

“Can… you…will you ask him…when he… if he comes back?”

“What kiddo?” Zechs asked softly. 

“He doesn’t think it was my fault, does he?” Duo asked, his voice so faint that Zechs could barely make out the words. “I…sometimes I have dreams, that he’s mad at me for not getting back with the vaccine in time.”

“Oh, Duo…” Dorothy made a choked sound.

“Please, Zechs?”

“I’ll ask him,” Zechs promised quietly. “Though I don’t think it’s really necessary. If he blamed you, he wouldn’t have stuck around watching over you for so long, and he wouldn’t be so damned protective of you.”

“Oh.” Duo sighed. “I guess not.” Zechs could feel the tension suddenly drain out of him, as Duo relaxed against his shoulder. They sat there in silence for a bit, before Zechs finally realized that Duo had fallen asleep again.

“Duo?” Dorothy asked, trying futilely to draw her hand back. Zechs smiled as he realized that even asleep, Duo was clinging tenaciously to the comfort of their presence.

“I think you may be stuck for the rest of the night.” Zechs couldn’t quite hide the smirk, as he started the careful process of easing them back down onto the bed without waking Duo.

“Great,” Dorothy muttered. But after a moment, she curled up next to Duo with a contented sigh. Closing his eyes wearily, Zechs started to slip back into sleep himself.

* * *

“I hate people,” Dorothy growled, slinking into the tiny office and slumping down on the pile of cushions that never quite made it back onto the couch in the small lounge. “People suck.”

Zechs exchanged curious looks with Duo over the top of their computers; and as one, both saved their work and turned to look at her.

“What’s up, Doro?” Duo asked quietly. 

She glanced up, and then winced as she realized that they were both watching her in concern. “Sorry guys. I’m just having a crappy day.”

“Would this have anything to do with the fact that Une assigned you a rookie as an officemate?”

“It wouldn’t except that she assigned me an anal retentive, ultra paranoid rookie with no personality as an officemate,” Dorothy growled. “At least she put you two together.” Dropping her head into her hands, she sighed. “Can we go back to working nights? He leaves at exactly 5:10 p.m. every day. You could set a clock by him.”

Duo flinched, feeling guilty that both of them had rearranged their schedules around his problems. _Not that I particularly care if I work days or nights._

“Actually,” Zechs frowned thoughtfully. “I had been thinking of asking Une for a different office.” Duo felt his stomach twist, and guilt hit him. _God, have I been that bad as an officemate?_

Zechs glanced up at the sudden silence, and looked startled at the expressions on their faces. “I was hoping for one that was big enough to actually fit another chair into or a small couch, so that one of us wasn’t always having to either sit or nap on the floor.”

“Oh.” Duo finally found his voice.

“Since Dorothy has been spending more time in here, and you are still falling asleep at odd times.” Duo flushed in embarrassment. “Your body is still trying to make up for lost sleep, Duo. It’s not a problem.”

“Actually,” Dorothy mused thoughtfully, “that’s not a bad idea.”

“Yeah. Except there aren’t any bigger offices available.” Duo shook his head slowly.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Zechs smiled suddenly. “And about the fact that we’re still having a little trouble trying to adjust to working set hours, and settling three people into my apartment.” 

“And have you come up with anything?” Dorothy asked hopefully.

“Maybe. I think we’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

“How so?” Duo blinked. 

“For the last few weeks, we have been trying to fit ourselves to Une’s rules, when for the past eleven months, at least Dorothy and I have been deliberately falling through the cracks and ignoring them. And as I recall, the Gundam Pilots weren’t exactly known for doing things by the book. Most terrorists don’t, it’s too predictable and easier to get caught.”

“So?”

“So, I say we throw out the rule book,” Zechs shrugged. “Make our own rules.”

“Une’s not going to like that one,” Duo whispered. 

“She’s not going to have a choice,” Zechs sighed. “She can’t afford to lose us, it’s why she’s let it slide for as long as she has. We’re some of her best, even if no one else wants to admit it.”

“But that doesn’t help with the problem of there not being any larger offices available.”

“So we don’t use an office.”

“Ok, you lost me there.” Duo blinked.

“I was checking the floorplan of the building out.” Zechs shrugged. “Did either of you know that there even was a conference room on the third floor?”

“Um, no?” Duo blinked. 

“It’s never been used, really. I think it was put there more as an afterthought than anything else. The third floor houses most of the file and record rooms, as I’m sure Duo knows. There aren’t really any offices on that level, and the main conference rooms are on either this floor or the one above it.”

“So— you want to take over the conference room on the third floor, and turn it into a really big office.” Dorothy smiled. “I like the idea already.”

“Not just that, the other reason that no one uses the conference room on the third floor, is because to get to it, you have to go through the lounge that we were sitting in the other day.”

“Zechs, buddy, you are a genius.” Duo laughed, then sighed. “We just have to convince Une to let us have it.”

“Leave that to me.” Zechs smiled, glad to see both of his partners happy again.


	13. Rock the Cradle

Duo frowned down at the report in front of him, scribbling hasty notes on the legal pad as he read. _Man, how do these two ever solve a case? Together they have as much common sense as a rabid squirrel._ He’d only read over the file once so far, but he already had a list of questions the two agents conducting the original investigation hadn’t thought to ask— assuming Lady Une ever let him back into the field to ask any of them. He had spent most of the last week going through the old files and making notes of possibilities for reopening at least a third of the cases. _I know I’m still considered a rookie by a lot of people here; after all, I’ve only been an agent for six months myself. But still— some of this is ridiculous._

Muttering softly to himself as he flipped the page and started scribbling on a blank sheet, he almost didn’t notice when Zechs paused beside him to set down a fresh cup of coffee. 

“Thanks, man,” he mumbled, taking a sip of the hot drink before going back to his notes.

“You’re welcome.” It was the amused tone to the smooth voice that finally made him pause long enough to look up. Zechs had picked up one of the files he’d set aside and was reading through the notes he’d attached to the front with an odd smile on his face.

“What’s so damn funny?” Duo growled, a little stung at thinking his ideas were just amusing his partner. “If they’d thought to check some of this stuff, maybe the case would have been solved.”

“I have no doubt of that, Duo.” Zechs grinned at him. “I’m just trying to figure out how to convince Une not to put you in Mission Research permanently when she sees this. That or she’ll want you in charge of training the rookies.”

“Huh?” Duo blinked. “She wouldn’t. Would she?” He watched warily as Zechs quickly flipped through two more case files. 

“You seem to have a—unique— thought process when it comes to some of these investigations.” Zechs shook his head. “No wonder you have so much trouble working with partners.” 

“Why? Just cause I like to think outside the box sometimes?” Duo scowled. “And I’m glad I’m managing to amuse you.”

“It’s not that you’re amusing me,” Zechs lowered the file and met his eyes soberly. “I just can’t help but wonder how you managed to keep Yuy and Chang from killing you during the war, if you approached your missions like this.”

“What’s wrong with the way I approached missions?” Duo glared at him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Though if we were gonna be working together, I normally let them plan the mission,” he added with a soft mutter. “Yuy was such a perfectionist that even Chang couldn’t plan a mission to his satisfaction.”

“Absolutely nothing is wrong with it.” Zechs put on hand on Duo’s shoulder. “Don’t get so defensive, Duo, I’m not criticizing.” He grinned again. “It’s just… you look at these cases from the viewpoint of a former terrorist, self confessed thief, and juvenile delinquent. Not a former soldier, or a police officer. You not only threw out the book on a few of these, but you’ve started a bonfire with it.”

Duo just raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Yeah, right. All that’s missing are the marshmallows, right?”

“Something like that.” Zechs nodded, his eyes losing focus in that way that Duo was starting to realize meant he was ‘talking’ to Treize. _Man, that still freaks me out a little. It was weird enough when I kept seeing them in bed together and thought I was just nuts. But knowing that the former leader of Oz is just hanging around in our office cause he’s bored or something…_ “But, seriously, I think you have a real knack for looking at these and seeing the patterns in them that everyone else misses. I certainly wouldn’t have considered a few of these angles.”

“Maybe…” Duo shrugged uncomfortably. He would have said more, but at that moment Zechs’ phone rang. Duo frowned as Zechs stepped away to answer the call, and glanced back over the notes he'd made on the latest case. _Huh. I guess some of that stuff wouldn’t be obvious unless you had spent most of your life perfecting the art of breaking and entering._

“Shit…” Zechs tossed the rest of the files onto the desk, not appearing to notice when he missed, as he was already heading for the door while shrugging into his jacket. “I’m probably gonna be late, don’t wait dinner for me if you guys go home before I get back. You have the key I gave you, right?”

“Yeah…” Duo said to the closing door as Zechs vanished down the hall at a pace just short of a dead run. “No problem.” With a sigh, he walked around the desk to retrieve the scattered folders.

 

* * *

Zechs stared around him at utter chaos and sighed. _How the hell did I let Une rope me into this mess?_ The front parlor of Senator Jameson’s mansion was overflowing with security personnel, police officers and Preventers, not to mention the Senator, his staff and his distraught wife. Meeting Une’s eyes across the room, they both winced a little as the Senator began demanding for the seventh time since they’d arrived that somebody do something to find his daughter. _Believe me, I wish I knew what to do. At least I’m not the one actually in charge of this investigation…_

‘Keep telling yourself that,’ Treize grumbled near his shoulder. ‘But we both know that Une is only here for show as the head of Preventers. While she is a more than adequate administrator and tactician, she’s never actually worked in the field as an investigator.’

Silently agreeing, Zechs frowned and made his way across the room to where Une was standing with one of the Senator’s aides, the Mayor, and the Chief of Police for Sanck’s capital city. _And this case is going to be unusually high profile. Any missteps are going to be— bad._

Excusing herself from the small knot of politicians, Une met him halfway. “Thank you for coming down here, Agent Wind.”

He nodded. “How long ago since the kidnappers called?”

“Six hours.” She glanced around. “The Senator is about to go ballistic. They asked for 5 million for the safe return of Seely Jameson, and gave a twenty four hour time limit for him to raise it.”

“Who took the call?” he asked grimly.

“Mrs. Jameson.” Une gestured at the pale woman sobbing on the couch. “She’s been hysterical since then.”

“Any idea who saw the little girl last?” 

“Her nanny tucked her in about 7 p.m. last night, as usual. Apparently, it’s somewhat normal for her to get out of bed by herself in the morning and go play, so no one noticed she was missing until nearly 9 a.m. They spent several hours searching the grounds before the call came at noon.”

“This is turning into a sideshow,” he muttered. “We’ve got to get some of these people cleared out. They may have already destroyed any potential evidence that might have given us a clue how the Senator’s daughter was kidnapped.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She scowled at the room at large, and he saw more than one former Oz soldier pale and start edging for the doors. 

Zechs watched silently as Une and the Chief of Police gradually got the crowd to disperse into side rooms where police officers and the Preventers agents called in as backup for Zechs and Une were taking statements and checking alibis before sending the staff members home. Mrs. Jameson was still sobbing quietly on the couch, holding a framed photograph of the smiling, six year old Seely. 

“Prince Peacecraft, thank you for taking charge of this case.” Senator Jameson moved to his side. “I know that if anyone can find Seely, it will be the Preventers.”

“It’s our job.” Zechs tried to be patient, understanding the man’s distress over his daughter’s abduction. “Though I’m not a Prince anymore Senator. Just another citizen of Sanck. Lady Une is actually in charge of this investigation.”

“Er…yes.” The Senator dismissed that with a wave of one pudgy hand. “Of course. So what do we do next, your highness?”

Treize just rolled his eyes where he was standing a few feet away. Zechs successfully fought down a laugh and tried to think of something placating to say. He could appreciate the man’s distress, but the Senator had been buzzing around the room and getting in the way since they had arrived. 

“We’re finished taking statements from the staff that were here last night,” Une spoke from behind them, saving Zechs from having to answer. “A forensics team is currently working in Seely’s room looking for any evidence the kidnapper may have left behind. How are you doing in preparing the ransom? Just in case we need to go that far to catch the people behind this?”

“My accountant said he would have everything ready by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.”

“Good.” Une sighed. “In that case, Senator, all you and Mrs. Jameson can do at this point is wait. And let us do our jobs.”

“Yes, yes of course…” With a last beseeching look at Zechs, the Senator moved over to sit beside his wife and quietly took her hand.

“Any ideas?” Une asked quietly. 

“None. I wish there were a recording of the call from the kidnappers. It might have given us a little more to go on…” He shrugged. “Are those the statements? Perhaps once I have a chance to read through them, something will fall into place. Have the Senator’s Security staff, or the Police found out how the kidnappers entered the mansion?”

“No, and so far forensics have not found anything to indicate anyone but Seely, her parents and her nanny were in her room.”

“Perhaps she was taken from outside after all?”

“Perhaps. They’re waiting for more lights before searching the grounds outside.” 

Zechs frowned thoughtfully. Something was not right about the situation. Apparently Treize shared his feelings, as the ghost was studying the room with a grim intensity that worried Zechs. A moment later, the apparition crossed the room to look under a cloth-draped table along the far wall. It was harder this time to keep his concentration on the conversation with Une; but he knew it would look too odd if he kept staring at nothing. _‘Treize? What is it?’_

“Zechs? What’s wrong?” Une asked worriedly, and he realized he’d missed part of the conversation after all. When he glanced casually back at the table, Treize had vanished. 

“Sorry, just thinking.” He shook his head. “What did you say?”

“I asked what you thought the next step should be?”

“I want to call in Dorothy. Her family was close to the Senator’s, she might be able to get more details from Mrs. Jameson about the call from the kidnappers,” Zechs sighed. “And I want to call in Duo.”

“What? He’s not been cleared for fieldwork yet.”

“Lady Une, I think we need him. And Dorothy and I are both willing to partner with him. He’s been sleeping, which was your requirement, wasn’t it?”

“I suppose you’re right. And we’re probably going to need all the spare bodies on this one we can get.” She threw him a thoughtful look. “But why him, specifically?”

“I think he might be able to figure out how the kidnapper got into the house.” Zechs smiled. “This sort of thing does seem to fit into the realm of his prior experience.”

“He’s kidnapped people before?” she asked skeptically. 

“Breaking and entering was his specialty, more so than the other Gundam pilots.”

“There is that.” She scowled. “Fine. Bring him in. But I’m holding you responsible if it turns out to be a mistake.”

“Thank you, Lady.”

“Don’t thank me until it works and we’ve solved this.”


	14. Small Secrets

Zechs looked up from the statements he was reading, oddly relieved to see Dorothy sitting on the couch next to Mrs. Jameson. Une had corralled the Chief of Police into trying to keep the Senator occupied. _If Dorothy is here, Duo probably is too. Maybe I should go look for him._

Dorothy glanced up at him and threw him a tight smile, before turning back to the grief-stricken woman at her side. _It’s odd. It feels better knowing they’re both here. Just wish Treize was back._ He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much that the ghost had disappeared; perhaps it was the oddly furious look on his face the last time Zechs’ had seen him. The expression had been an unfamiliar one for Treize, and it had taken some time after his departure for Zechs to figure out what that look had been.

The door opened, as Duo and one of the private security guards stepped into the room. Duo glanced up from his conversation to give Zechs a brief, distracted smile, but Zechs could see that all of the younger man’s attention was focused on his companion. Shaking his head a little, Zechs met Dorothy’s eyes. He could see the relief he felt mirrored in her blue eyes; just that brief glimpse at Duo’s expression had shown how much it had meant for him to be put back in the field. 

Stretching a little, now that he’d taken a break from the statements, he let his eyes rove around the room. Most of the crowd had dispersed, though the room still seemed overfull. The Senator and his wife, the Senator’s personal assistant, the nanny, the head of the Senator’s security team, the Chief of Police and the squad of Preventers were all overflowing the large room as it was. Oddly enough, both the Senator and the head of his Security were staring at Duo and his companion with uneasy looks. _Dammit_ , he thought with a silent growl, _somebody must have told them that Duo had been suspended from the field. Not that it was anyone’s business._

Frowning a little, Zechs stood up and moved restlessly around the room. There was something wrong here, he could feel it. _Dammit Treize, where are you?_ It worried him a little how dependent he was becoming on his friend’s presence. 

As if called, the ghost reappeared exactly where he’d been when he vanished, standing next to the table against the far wall. Solo was slouching a short distance away, as usual. As much as he seemed to not like either Treize or Zechs, he did appear to spend a lot of time trailing after Treize and scowling. Zechs smiled faintly to himself, amused by the thought. 

But the smiled faded again as he watched the two ghosts. Neither of them seemed to even notice the crowd of people in the room, which he supposed wasn’t that surprising given that the people were equally oblivious to the two ghosts. It was more disturbing to Zechs that neither ghost so much as glanced at him and Duo. 

Rather, they appeared to be having some sort of oddly intense argument. 

Before he could get over the shock of seeing the two ghosts actually conversing with each other, Treize crouched to peer under the table again. A moment later, and somewhat reluctantly, Solo crouched down beside him and looked under the table as well.

 _What the fuck are they looking at?_ Zechs wondered, feeling apprehension creeping over him quickly. He contemplated how much attention it would draw if he walked over and looked under the table himself, which served to bring him back to reality sharply. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed his own preoccupation. To his relief, Dorothy and Duo were the only ones looking in his direction, though he could tell from the grim looks they threw him that they knew something was going on; not that he had any more clue than they did what was happening.

His two partners looked at each other, then nodded briefly. Duo excused himself from his conversation with the security guard and moved towards Zechs, as Dorothy stood and began subtly herding the remaining crowd towards the dining room. He didn’t bother to listen to what she was saying, trusting that she would manage to keep the attention on herself for a few minutes. Unable to help it, he glanced back at the table to see that Solo had vanished, though Treize was still crouching where he could look beneath the tablecloth. 

“Zechs?” Duo asked softly, moving up so that he was standing in front of where Zechs was looking. “What’s up, man?”

“Duo…” Zechs started to tell him to move, then realized that Duo was trying to disguise the fact that he was staring intently into space. “Sorry. I…”

“It’s cool. Whatever you’re seeing, watch it over my shoulder,” Duo sighed. “It’s just seriously creepy to see you stop and stare into space like that. Not to mention that it will eventually draw the attention of Lady Une. She’s already twitchy enough about me. No need to make her doubt your sanity too.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. So what are you watching so intently, anyway?”

“I—don’t know. Treize and Solo were arguing about something, and they keep looking under that table. There’s something something under there, but I can’t think of any plausible excuse to go over there myself, and I can’t seem to get Treize’s attention.”

“We’re investigating a kidnapping,” Duo frowned. “You need a plausible excuse to poke around?”

“Who was mentioning the need to keep Une from questioning my sanity?” Zechs sighed softly. “I rather thought that she might want to know why I’m only checking under one table, in a room that hasn’t been empty since this mess started, and about which absolutely nothing looks readily suspicious. It’s a table.”

“Hmmm. You might have a point there.” 

“I thought so— Oh fuck!” Zechs broke off as Solo suddenly emerged from under the table, a small figure cradled closely in his arms. “No...”

“Zechs?” Duo reached out to steady him. “What?” He was only peripherally aware of the younger man shooting a look over his shoulder to see how close Dorothy was to getting the room cleared. “Talk to me, buddy.”

“I…” Zechs swallowed, as Solo turned slightly, and he recognized the tearstained face nestled against the ghost’s shoulder. Blood smeared the tiny face, matted the tangled dark hair and stained the ragged shirt Solo was wearing. For the first time, Zechs noticed the ghost had gone back to his fifteen year old, scarecrow appearance. “I don’t think this is a kidnapping anymore.”

“What?” Duo’s voice went grim. 

“It’s— I think it’s now a homicide.” Zechs’ voice broke then, as Treize turned to look at him for the first time and he recognized the rage in his old friend’s eyes.

* * *

“Shit.” Duo groaned, then suddenly pushed Zechs into a chair before the taller man fell. “Okay…um… shit. I guess we’d better tell Une.”

“No,” Zechs said suddenly, startling Duo with the grim finality in his voice. “We can’t tell anyone yet.”

“Tell anyone what?” Dorothy’s voice came from behind him and in spite of himself Duo jumped guiltily. Glancing around, he was relieved to find themselves now alone in the living room.

“That this is now a homicide,” Duo echoed Zechs’ earlier words, more than a little worried by the shock on the older man’s face. He’d gotten used to Zechs being the strong, stable, completely unflappable one in this weird little trio they’d formed. It was rocking the foundations that he had so carefully shored up to see the older man falter. Dorothy sighed, but didn’t bother to ask how they knew.

“Zechs is right,” Dorothy frowned thoughtfully. “We can’t let Une know, not yet. Not until we have some kind of proof. Duo and I believe you can see things that no one else can, but Une is not going to be so easy to convince.”

“Okay. So what’s the plan then?” 

“We keep treating this as a kidnapping, and try to catch the bastards that did this.” Zechs raised his head, and Duo could see him pulling himself back together with a visible effort. “They will have no way of knowing that we know the little girl is dead, unless we accidentally tip off the family. I don’t think Mrs. Jameson is up to any sort of pretense at the moment, and we desperately need the kidnappers to think we’re going to agree to the ransom drop if we’re going to catch them.”

“Yeah.” Duo nodded. “Hey, you’re seeing her ghost, right?”

“Yes.” 

“So why don’t you ask her where they are?”

“When Solo gets her calmed down, I’ll try.” Zechs rubbed his eyes. The vision of the small girl curled in the older boy’s arms, a tattered teddy bear hanging by one leg down his back as she held onto him with a death grip was something he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forget. 

“Ah…” Duo smiled sadly. “He’ll manage ok. He did with all of us.” Memories of Solo calming the little ones down after nightmares, or scares, or fights ran through his mind. “He— he always liked little kids.” 

Zechs didn’t speak, but Duo could see the question in the ice blue eyes meeting his. Shaking his head a little, he changed the subject. “Okay, so we know she’s dead. We just can’t prove it. And we know she was kidnapped, we just can’t figure out how. This is just great.”

“You didn’t find any way that they could have gotten into the house to take her?” Zechs asked quietly.

“Not really. According to Gary, the security guy I was talking to, no alarms went off, none of the motion detectors around the grounds detected anything larger than a small fox, and none of the doors appeared to have been opened. They’re all alarmed, and so are most of the windows. I checked the ways I would have gotten in, and most of those windows have actually been painted shut. For years. He’s getting us copies of the surveillance videodisks, by the way. He’s not supposed to let us take them offsite, but the little girl was friends with his little sister and he figures we have the best chance of finding her.” Duo shrugged.

“Shit.” 

“There was one weird thing, though…” Duo hesitated. 

“What?” Dorothy prompted.

“One of the windows in the kitchen-- well, it’s actually kind of the pantry really, not actually part of the kitchen as a whole-- was broken.”

They both just looked at him. “But you don’t think that was how they got into the house?”

“No.” Duo shrugged. “It would be a stupid way to get in, cause you would have to crawl over a hedge to do it, which is now filled with broken glass.”

“So? If they really wanted to…” Zechs glanced up to see Duo just shaking his head. “Okay. What are those of us who aren’t ex-thieves missing?”

“The window was broken outward. The glass should be inside the house if it was broken from the outside. Instead, it’s in the hedge. Which is undamaged. And there are no footprints in the dirt there.”

“So the window was just a decoy?”

“Yeah,” Duo shrugged. “Which is why most of us have been ignoring it.”

“If most of the windows were wired… why didn’t the alarm go off?” Dorothy asked grimly. “Senator Jameson is one of the leading proponents of Pacifism in Sanck, right behind Relena. But he is also very paranoid, and he has a lot of security. Surely they didn’t forget to alarm one window, even if it wasn’t a likely choice for someone to use to get in.”

“The wires to the window are intact.” Duo shrugged. “The window was broken after the security alarms were turned off. They aren’t on right now, there are too many people trooping in and out of the house.”

“This is getting stranger and stranger.” Dorothy frowned. “Dammit. The little girl is our best witness. We’ve got to hope she can tell us something.”


	15. Secrets and Lies

Zechs opened the door to Seely’s room, somehow not surprised to see Solo sitting in the middle of the bed with the little girl still clinging to him and clutching her teddybear. Treize was leaning against the wall to one side, out of Seely’s line of sight. Zechs had waited until the forensics team had finished, so that there would be no interruptions when he asked Seely about her kidnapping. He was under no illusions that this was going to be easy or pleasant for any of them, living or dead.

Solo looked up as he entered, wary gray eyes dark with anger. He was glowing again, which Zechs was learning was a sign of extreme anger with him. Thin arms tightened protectively around the little girl. Closing the door behind him, Zechs moved closer to the bed. 

“Solo…” He sighed, speaking softly but out loud. Dorothy was lurking in the hall, keeping watch and prepared to keep everyone away from the room for a while; so he didn’t worry too much about being overheard. “I need to talk to her.”

Solo glared up at him, tightening his arms protectively. 

‘It’s the only way we’re going to find out what happened, kiddo,’ Treize said softly from behind them. Zechs was oddly relieved to have his friends support. _I’ve really got to ask Duo why Solo is so hostile towards us._

‘Nothin’ she can tell you is gonna help,’ Solo finally muttered. ‘I already asked.’

“Did she see who took her?” Zechs prompted evenly, trying to be patient with the ghost. It was still rather odd to have Solo actually speak to either of them, and not just hover behind Duo.

‘No…’ Solo frowned, and looked disconcerted for a bit. ‘She doesn’t r’member being taken nowhere.’

“Does she know where she is? Where her— body is?”

Solo looked away. ‘Someplace dark.’ He shrugged. ‘She don’t know why her parents won’t hold her. She don’t understand what happened. She’s just a little kid.’

“Shit…” Zechs frowned. “There has to be something she can tell us.”

‘It may take a while.’ Solo scowled at him. ‘Even for ‘dults, who’re old enough to know what’s happened, dying is fuckin’… confusing.’

‘He does have a point there,’ Treize sighed. ‘I… it is rather disorienting at first.’

“Great.” Zechs rubbed his eyes wearily. “And while we’re waiting for her to understand and be able to tell us what happened, the bastards who kidnapped her are also getting away with murder. And I can’t prove it without a body.”

‘You sure?’

Zechs frowned at Solo. “You’re holding her ghost. Yes, I’m sure. But I can’t just tell her parents that I know she’s dead because I saw her ghost in their living room.”

‘Not about her bein' dead. That she was kidnapped.’

“What?” Both Treize and Zechs stared at him in surprise. 

‘I was listening to Duo too,’ Solo muttered sullenly. ‘Of all of us, he was the best at breaking an’ entering. He didn’t find anyway somebody coulda got in or outta the house. And she doesn’t remember being taken.’

“Maybe she was already dead?”

‘Why would anyone, even a nutter, wanna bother taking a kid as was dead?’

“To get the ransom,” Zechs shrugged. “They did call and demand one. It was a kidnapping.”

“An' I thought nuns were bad ‘bout seeing stuff in black an' white…” Solo muttered, and suddenly vanished, taking Seely with him. 

‘Well. I think that went rather well.’ Treize rolled his eyes. ‘Is Duo that stubborn a pain in the ass?’

“On occasion,” Zechs sighed. “At least now I see where he gets it from.”

* * *

Dorothy glanced up as Zechs stepped out of Seely Jameson’s bedroom. His expression told her that it hadn’t gone well, and she threw him a sympathetic smile. 

“You okay?”

“I’ve been better,” he sighed, and rubbed his eyes wearily. “Though right now I really want to strangle Duo’s friend Solo. Too bad he’s already dead.”

“That could make it difficult.” She shook her head ruefully. “Duo’s waiting downstairs.”

“Good…” Zechs stretched a little. “Hopefully he’s gotten the surveillance video from his friend.”

“Yeah.” She followed him down the stairs silently. She could see the strain on both of her partners from hiding the fact that they knew the child was dead. _Thank God Duo got over his whole ‘no lying’ thing._ She shook her head a little. 

“What?”

“Nothing. Just thinking.” She managed to dredge up a small smile, since no one was watching them for the moment. “You holding up okay? So far you’ve had it the worst out of all of us.”

“I’ll live,” he said, then winced as he thought of Treize.

“Good.” She felt the smile become a little more real. “Cause neither of us can talk to dead people if you didn’t.”

He managed a wan smile in return. 

It took a bit of searching before they finally found Duo, standing in the hall outside of the living room. He was lost in thought, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his jacket and rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Hey.” Zechs moved up behind him. “Where is everyone?”

“I think Une is trying to get everyone cleared out,” Duo didn’t look up, still frowning thoughtfully. “The police are staying here tonight, and so are the squad of night shift Preventers that just showed up to relieve us.”

“I thought they were bringing that squad in to search the grounds outside.”

“Decided to wait for daylight.” Duo finally looked up. “Don’t want to risk missing something or stepping on it in the dark and destroying evidence. Even with lights.”

“Hm. So Une is kicking us out?”

“They figure not much is gonna happen tonight.” Duo shrugged. “The kidnappers gave them until noon, so no one expects to hear much of anything from them tonight. She figures if we sleep now, we’ll have a better chance of catching them tomorrow at the drop.” He glanced up at Zechs and raised one brow questioningly. Zechs shook his head, understanding by the fact that Duo didn't ask the question out loud that Une was near.

“Alright. Let me tell her we’re leaving.”

None of them spoke again until they were halfway back to headquarters. Zechs filled them in on his conversation with Solo as he drove. Duo bit his lip, and then glanced at them nervously. 

“I got the surveillance disk from Gary. Figured it might be better to watch it at HQ rather than in the Senator’s house.”

“Good,” Zechs nodded. “There has to be something here we’re missing.”

“Um…” Duo fidgeted, then looked up at them guiltily. “And I did a little snooping while I waited for you guys.”

“Snooping?” Zechs narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “Why are you acting like we’re going to be mad at you? That’s our job.”

“Yeah… but…” Duo shrugged. “I still feel weird about…you know.”

“You touched something in the house,” Dorothy said grimly. “Duo, why the hell didn’t you wait for one of us? What if someone had seen you have a hallucination?”

“I was careful, no one was around. And it was the first time the room had been completely empty, so I took a chance,” Duo said defensively. “You didn’t get mad at Zechs for talking to ghosts.”

“He has a point there. What’s the good of having these abilities if we don’t use them?” Zechs smiled at his partners as he pulled the car into the parking garage at headquarters. “So, what did you touch?”

“That table. The one her ghost was hiding under. I figured there had to be a reason she was hiding there, right?”

“Right. I should have thought of that…” Zechs groaned. 

“You had other things on your mind,” Dorothy reminded him. “And? What happened.”

“Nothing much. I got a lot of impressions of her hiding under there. It’s decked out like a little cave with a pillow, and a few toys. It— it felt really warm, and kind of comforting, and very secret. Except, there was one impression of her hiding under there when she was scared. She was thinking that no one would find her. No one knows that she hides there, not even her parents. Especially not the scary man.”

“Scary man?” 

“I don’t know, she didn’t look at his face, and that’s what she called him. Scary man. He was in the living room talking to Senator Jameson.” Duo sighed and ran a hand wearily over his eyes. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, the visions I see are fairly short. And I have no idea how long ago that visit happened. It may be completely unrelated to this mess.”

“Hm. It’s at least something else to check out. We can see who all has visited the Senator in the last few days.”

“Was that the only thing you touched?” Dorothy asked quietly.

“No.” Duo threw them a sheepish look. “I touched some of the glass from that broken window, and most of the doors.”

“Did you pick up anything?”

Duo shook his head. “Whoever broke the glass was upset, but they didn’t leave enough of an emotional fingerprint that I could get anything useful from it.”

“Dammit…” Dorothy scowled out the window at the dark garage. 

“Wait— Duo,” Zechs suddenly turned to stare at him. “You said there were toys under the table?”

“Yeah, a couple of dolls and stuff.”

“Was there a teddy bear?”

“Teddy bear?” Duo blinked. “No. I didn’t see one when I actually looked, though now that you mention it, she was holding it in the vision or whatever.”

“What’s so important about a teddy bear?” Dorothy asked grimly.

“I don’t know. Except her ghost was holding it, and now that I think about it, it wasn’t in her room and if it wasn’t under the table…”

“Then maybe she had it with her when she was taken?” Dorothy nodded. “If we could find that…”

“Yeah, and I can just see Une’s face when I ID the kidnappers by holding a teddy bear.” Duo laughed bitterly. “That would pretty much confirm that she would never let me out of the office again.”


	16. Jumping at Shadows

Dorothy set the laptop on the round table that took up most of the space in the small conference room they had hijacked for their use. While Lady Une had so far not granted their request to turn it into a permanent office, they had no qualms about borrowing it for working on the current case. It would be easier to fit all three of them into it than into either of their official offices; and less likely that anyone would overhear them investigating a murder that hadn’t been discovered yet.

“You brought Epyon?” Duo asked as he propped his feet up on the table and gestured to the nondescript computer. Dorothy flushed, and shrugged a little uncomfortably. 

“I thought we could use all the help we can get,” she muttered defensively. While they knew she talked to the computer, this was going to be the first time anyone watched while she did it.

“Good idea…” Zechs nodded, and seated himself. “So let’s watch the security disk, and then go back over everything we have so far.”

“Fine,” Duo shrugged casually. “But you guys get to tell Une you kept me up all night on my first day back in the field.”

“That’s what the couches out there are for.” Zechs grinned at their partner. Duo laughed softly, as he pulled the disk out of his jacket pocket and tossed it to Dorothy. Ignoring the banter behind her, she booted the computer and inserted the disk, then placed her palm on the screen for a while.

_Epyon?_

**Here/others here/pilots?**

“Yes, Zechs is here… and Duo,” she muttered softly, still feeling rather odd about having two sets of eyes locked on her. She couldn’t help wondering if this was how Zechs felt, when he talked to Treize.

**Hide? no talk now?**

Only long practice enabled her to figure out the question. “No, they still don’t hear you, but they know you’re here. We don’t have to hide.”

The screen changed color quickly beneath her palm, before returning to the normal main menu. 

“Ok, now I know why you guys give me such weird looks all the time,” Zechs sighed.

Duo just smirked at her. “Oh, man, if Yuy could see you do that, he would be beyond jealous.”

The easy acceptance of her companions eased most of her nervousness, though it was not like either of them could say anything about it, with their own gifts from Epyon. 

No one spoke again as the disk started playing. Pulling her palm off the computer, she turned the screen so that all three of them could watch the images. There were shots from various cameras positioned around the interior and the exterior of the mansion, all motion controlled. Several people left through the front door, but none were carrying anything that could conceivably be a small girl. And none of them were particularly scary looking. When the record stopped, all of them felt the frustration of knowing that they were no closer to the truth than they had been when they left the Senator’s house.

“Damn, that security system is good,” Duo muttered. “It should have picked up something, assuming there was something to pick up.”

“Ok, so what do we know?” Dorothy frowned. “There has to be something we’re missing.”

“The little girl vanished sometime between 7 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., and she’s dead. The kidnappers called in and requested a 5 million dollar ransom about noon…”

“Wait.” Duo frowned, then grabbed up a legal pad. “We’re mixing our information.”

“What?”

“There is what is known, and there is what we know using less than normal sources, and then there is what we don’t know.”

“Okay,” Dorothy shook her head. “So how do you see it?”

“What we know, absolutely without doubt and can be proven?” Duo scribbled for a moment. “We know Seely Jameson, age six, was last seen by her nanny at approximately 7 p.m. At 9:30 the next morning, her family noticed she was missing, and started searching. At 12:00 p.m., her mother received a ransom call. There is a broken window in the pantry, but it was broken after all the security alarms were turned off, and it was broken from the inside. We know that the Senator is a paranoid man, and his security is tight.” He scribbled something more, then smiled tightly. “Okay, what do we know that no one else knows? We know Seely is dead. We know she had a favorite hiding spot under the table, but her favorite toy is not there, nor is it in her room. We know she doesn’t remember being taken anywhere, but she’s in a dark place. We know that at some point, she encountered a man that her father knew, that scared her.” He stopped and stared at the pad of paper. “Which leaves…what we don’t know.”

Dorothy blinked, and saw the same look of concentration in Zechs’ eyes as he watched their younger partner. “Which is a lot.”

“So we narrow down what we need to know.” Duo flipped the sheet over and started a new list. “How did she die? Where is her body? Where is the teddy bear? How was she taken out of the house without any traces? Was she kidnapped?”

“We know she was kidnapped,” Zechs started, frowning a little.

“No, we know someone called and asked for a ransom. Almost three hours after she was first reported missing.” 

“You are thinking the same thing Solo was— that it _wasn’t_ a kidnapping?”

“I’m not sure what I’m thinking, except that something isn’t right about this.”

“So what if we ignore the ransom call.” Dorothy tugged absently at a lock of blond hair. “We have a murder. We still have no body, and we still have no proof.”

“We also have no motive, now.” Zechs said quietly. “So, why would someone kill a six year old child?”

“Lot’s of people do it, all the time,” Duo muttered, a dark look in his eyes. “The question is, why did someone kill _this particular_ six year old child.”

“And was she murdered or is she simply dead, and someone is hoping to capitalize on the fact that she’s missing?” Dorothy said quietly. The two men turned to stare at her. “We might as well consider all the possibilities.”

“Alright, I obviously need to try and talk to Solo again. If I can get him to come back,” Zechs sighed.

Duo nodded, then looked up. “More questions then— who gains anything if she’s dead? Who gains anything by hiding that she’s dead?”

“Whoever killed her, obviously.”

“I’m beginning to think that nothing is going to be obvious in this case,” Duo sighed. “Dammit…” 

“Add this to your list: why was the window broken?”

“And was it broken by the alleged kidnapper, or the alleged murderer?”

Dorothy sighed, and glanced away from the guys to see that Epyon was processing something. His screen was flickering rapidly, images from the disk they had just watched replaying in reverse.

“Epyon?” She touched the monitor, and saw the frantic motion of images slow. 

**copy/not complete**

“What?”

**copy**

“Copy?” She frowned. “I don’t understand, Epyon.”

“It’s not a copy, Gary said he took the original,” Duo frowned at the laptop.

**copy/ edited**

“Duo, how do you know Gary?” Zechs asked suddenly.

“He was assigned by the Senators’ Head of Security to show me around, at Une’s request.”

“Did he lead the way, or did he just follow you?”

“Both…” Duo hesitated. “You think it’s a setup?”

“I don’t know. Did he offer to get you the disk, or did you ask?”

“I asked. He said at first, he wasn’t supposed to give me the disk. I kept after him, on the grounds that it could be crucial information. He finally said he could sneak it to me, which is what he did.”

“Did you go with him when he got it?”

“Yes.” Duo nodded thoughtfully. “We were in the security room on the first floor. There is a rack of disks, each labeled with the date.”

“Why?” Dorothy asked grimly. 

“We have been making a lot of assumptions about this case, as Duo pointed out earlier. What if we throw out one more assumption.”

“Which is?” she pressed.

“That someone came into the house from the outside.”

“Christ, an inside job?” Duo blinked, looking startled.

“Which is why forensics is showing nothing that shouldn’t be there, and we have found no way that someone got in.” Zechs nodded. “If it was someone with access to the security system, of course nothing is going to be on the video feed.”

“If no one came in,” Duo groaned. “Shit.”

“What?” Dorothy and Zechs asked in stereo. 

“What if no one went out either?”

“You think the dark place is inside the house?”

He nodded. “And think of this. If you murdered a six year old girl, and knew you couldn’t get the body out of the house, what would you do to keep people from looking too closely inside the house?”

“Call and ask for a ransom, so that it was obvious that the girl had been taken by someone outside the house.”

“This is making a scary amount of sense,” Dorothy muttered.

“Only if you know the girl is dead. Which we do.” Duo shrugged. “Otherwise, the investigation would be doing exactly what it is, focusing on finding the kidnappers.”

“Who don’t exist. What do you want to bet there’s no call tomorrow, and no instructions for the ransom drop? And later the body turns up somewhere far away and long decomposed. The case is becomes unsolvable, because there is never going to be any evidence to pin to a suspect. Obviously, the kidnappers got nervous, or an accident happened, and they dumped the body and ran, leaving a fortune behind.”

“And someone gets away with murder.”

They sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.

“This is really thin,” Zechs finally muttered. “We still have no proof of anything.”

“True,” Duo sighed, then rubbed his eyes wearily. “But do we have anything else to go on at this point?”

“No,” Dorothy muttered. “So, now what?”

“Duo goes to sleep, so that Une doesn’t freak and drag him off the case.” Zechs grinned. “And you and I start doing a full background search on everyone that was in the house last night.” 

“While you’re at it— think the floorplans to the house are available anywhere?” Duo asked as he stood up. “I’d really like to know any likely places to hide a body, before we go looking for it blindly.”


	17. The Dark Place

Morning came all too soon. Zechs woke first, and had to smile at his two partners. After the first time Duo had rolled off the couch in his sleep, they had pulled all the cushions off and made a nest on the floor of the lounge. Duo was currently curled up around Dorothy, using her as a teddy bear instead of Zechs.  


Thoughts of teddy bears, however, destroyed his good mood. 

“Duo, Dorothy. Time to get up.”

“Mmm?” Dorothy cracked one eye and glared at him. “Already?”

“Already.” Standing up, Zechs sighed as he glanced down at his rumpled uniform. “Duo. Come on. We have time for showers if you get up now.”

“First you want me to sleep, then you want me to wake up,” Duo grumbled as he unwrapped himself from around Dorothy and sat up. “Any luck last night?”

“I’ll fill you in as we go. I want to get back to the house as soon as possible.”

“Right.” Duo yawned, and staggered after Zechs. They had all copied Duo’s example and left spare uniforms and clothing in the locker rooms. Once the three had showered and grabbed a quick breakfast, they headed back to the Senator’s mansion.

“So, what’s the plan?” Duo asked. Dorothy handed him a printout of the mansion’s floorplans. 

“Dorothy and Epyon are going to take a look at the security system, and see if they can figure out what was edited off of that disk.” Zechs frowned. “You and I are going to search the house.”

“Great.” Duo glanced over the seat at Dorothy. “Wait, where’s the virus?”

“Virus?”

“Epyon.”

She winced, then glared at him. “It’s not a virus. And at the moment, it’s right here.” She held up a small palm sized mobile. 

“Cool.” Duo grinned. “Do we have any suspects?”

“Everyone in security, the nanny, and a few of the household staff.”

“Well, that certainly narrows it down,” Duo muttered softly, as he studied the floorplans that Dorothy had handed him. “Damn, this place is huge. This is going to take us a while.”

“Maybe…” Zechs sighed. “But if you were a six year old child, what would you consider a dark place?”

“Alleys, sewers and warehouses,” he rattled of automatically. Dorothy rolled her eyes at him.

“Okay, how about if you were the six year old daughter of a Senator,” Zechs asked again.

“Closets, attics and basements,” Dorothy answered, as she whapped Duo lightly in the back of the head. “I hated all of them equally as a child.”

“Hm. How about we rule out closets for the moment, since there are a million of them on the floorplan, and knock out the two biggies first.” Duo glanced at Zechs. “You want the attic or the basement?”

“Both.” Zechs turned the car onto the long drive leading to the Senator’s home. “I’d rather we searched together, at least in the beginning.”

“Hey, I’m over the whole thinking I was going crazy thing,” Duo muttered with a scowl.

“Yes, but for this first case, I’d rather you not be alone when trying this.” Zechs glanced at him soberly. “If nothing else… that way we’ll know better how to use your ability to our advantage.”

“You make me feel like one of the X-men. Though if you even think about us wearing neon spandex outfits, you can go recruit Yuy instead.” Duo managed a half-hearted attempt at a grin. Zechs swallowed hard, trying to ignore the image of his two partners in formfitting spandex that popped into his head. He had definitely spent too much time around Treize. 

“Just hope this works. It’s not like I’ve had a lot of practice at controlling whatever it is that I see.”

“Join the crowd,” Dorothy muttered, sounding like she was trying hard to smother a laugh. “And you shouldn’t be alone.”

“Huh?” Duo glanced over the back of the seat at her. “You seeing the future now or something?”

“No, but…” She flushed. “Epyon saw that much last night.”

“Why can’t it just see where we need to look?”

“Because it can’t control what it sees any more than you can,” Dorothy snapped. “Shit. Sorry.”

“No, I shouldn’t needle you about it. You guys don’t give me grief about Solo. And touching things.”

“It’s okay,” she muttered. 

“I really am sorry, Doro. I’m just not real comfortable with Epyon still being around yet.”

“I… yeah. I can understand that.” She sighed. “I’m still not sure how I feel about Treize and Solo.” Shaking her head a little, she managed a mock glare in Zechs’ direction. “Treize had better not be watching me in the shower…”

Zechs managed to keep his face neutral with an effort. _I wouldn’t put it past him. I know he’s been watching me. And Duo._

* * *  
They split up just inside the house, with Dorothy ducking into the security room to return the disk to Gary, and Zechs and Duo heading for the back stairway that would lead to the attic. They had hoped to finish searching at least one of the two most likely places without running into either the Senator, his security staff or Lady Une. Unfortunately, the next corner found them running into both Senator Jameson and Lady Une; as well as the Senator’s head of security.

“Milliardo,” the Senator greeted him anxiously. “Good. What have you found so far?”

“It’s Zechs Merquise, Senator. I no longer go by Milliardo.” _Didn’t we already go over this once?_

‘Of course you did…’ Treize grumbled, finally reappearing in the hallway behind the man. ‘Is it just me, or is he really fixated on the fact that you are a Peacecraft?’

 _‘Well, this is off to a great start so far,_ ’ Zechs thought bitterly. _‘And it’s about time you showed back up again.’_

“Zechs, Duo… you’re back earlier than I expected.” Lady Une didn’t sound unhappy about that fact, just surprised. 

“Lady, Senator.” Zechs nodded at them politely. “Yes, we had a few more things to check out once it was light.”

“There is a forensic team already searching the grounds outside,” the Chief of Security, Robert Lowell, said with a tight smile. Zechs wondered if it was paranoia that made him suspicious of the man, or just his self-righteous attitude. 

“We were actually interested in looking in Seely’s room one more time,” Zechs lied easily, nudging Duo to keep moving. The younger man nodded briefly at the two men, and went to brush past the Senator.

“Senator, have you met Duo Maxwell?” Lady Une said innocently. “He is one of Zechs’ partners.”

“No, I don’t believe we were introduced.” Senator Jameson stuck out his hand. “Glad to meet you, son.” 

“Nice to meet you…” Duo took his hand. It was only the fact that Zechs still had one hand on his shoulder that gave him any warning as suddenly his partner froze. Tightening his grip as much as he dared without actually throwing one arm around the younger man’s waist, he managed to hold him up for the moment it took for Duo to recover. 

“Senator, Une, Mr. Lowell, if you will excuse us, we need to make one last check of Seely’s room, then we’re heading out to check with the forensic teams.”

“Of course…” Lady Une was staring at Duo suspiciously, but said nothing further as Zechs pushed him past the three and down the hall. Zechs waited until they were out of easy earshot of the larger group before tugging Duo to a stop.

“Duo?”

Wide blue eyes, looking rather shell-shocked, met his uncertainly. 

“Maxwell, talk to me.”

“I… I think we left someone off the list of suspects…”

“Duo?” Zechs grabbed both of Duo’s shoulders and pushed him back against the wall as the young man sagged suddenly. “Shit. I thought it was only touching inanimate objects.”

“It usually is…” Duo shook his head, then appeared to pull himself back together. “But he’s wearing a ring. And apparently he was also wearing it when he picked up Seely’s body.”

“He killed his own daughter?” Zechs’ hissed softly. “You saw that?”

“No, but… he at least was there. And he moved the body.”

“What did you see?”

“Blood… dirt…rough walls…” Duo shook his head. “And an open crate.”

“Rough walls, were they stone?”

“I…maybe?”

“Then let’s rule out the attic and closets for now, and go straight for the basement.”

* * *

Dorothy glanced into the security room, breathing a sigh of relief that Duo’s contact was the only person currently occupying it.

“You’re Gary, right?” She asked quietly, as she stepped into the room and shut the door. “I’m Dorothy, Duo’s partner.” She threw him what she hoped was a blinding smile. _I knew I should have let Duo do this, and I could search the attic with Zechs. Like anyone is ever going to fall for me flirting with them._

“Uh…Hi.” He stared warily at her from his seat in front of the security monitors. 

“Duo wanted me to give this back to you.” She held out the disk. 

“Thanks,” the man muttered nervously, taking the disk quickly and putting it back on the rack. Dorothy ignored him, wandering over to the computers and peering curiously at the monitor. 

“Nice setup you have here.” She put one hand on the frame to brace herself as she leaned closer to look at the bank of monitors; and felt Epyon release itself from where it had been coiled in the implant. The monitors flickered minutely, and she smiled at Gary again. “Is this a Kray 7000?” 

“7002.” He perked up again, now that the disk was safely back where it belonged, and she was talking about computers. “The Senator spared no expense on this system.”

“He seems to be very security conscious.”

“He’s a very influential man,” Gary nodded. “Running for one of the top three seats in the Earthsphere Governing Council next year.”

“Really,” she smiled. “It must be quite a responsibility, to work for a man that powerful.”

“Yeah…” His smile faltered. “Though we don’t seem to have done very good at keeping his family safe.” The sudden pain in his earnest eyes was sobering. “Why would anyone want to take a little girl like Seely?”

“The world is full of psychos,” she muttered. “But we’re going to find this one, no matter what it takes.”

“Did that disk help?” He asked hopefully. “I watched it and couldn’t see much on it that would be useful.”

“Is that the only copy of the security files from that night?”

“Yeah. Well, the original file is also saved in the mainframe.” 

_Jackpot._

“So, Gary, tell me about the Senator’s security setup…” She threw him another smile, a genuine one this time. He melted slightly under the heat, and smiled tentatively back. 

* * *  
Robert Lowell stared out the window, watching the forensics team searching the grounds. He knew they weren’t going to find anything; there was nothing to find. Sighing, he glanced back at the workers. The two Preventers had not shown up to join the search. 

_So, where are they?_ He knew the tall blond one had been up to Seely’s room the evening before, and a different partner had been prowling the hallway guarding the room. _What does Preventers do, hire them for hair length?_

With a disgusted snort, he turned away from the window and headed for the security room. There were definite advantages to having cameras everywhere. He wasn’t sure what it was about the three Preventers that made him nervous, except that they obviously knew something they weren’t sharing with anyone else, including their commanding officer. 

He’d followed the younger, braided one as Gary showed him the security measures. His questions had indicated a vast understanding of how someone would get into the house. _So why do they not seem even slightly curious as to what the forensic team is finding or not finding outside? And what are they expecting to find in Seely’s room?_

Somehow, it was less of a surprise that it should have been, when he opened the door to the security office to find Gary talking to Merquise’s other partner. She glanced up, looking almost wary.

“Is there something I can help you with?” He asked grimly. “So that my people can do their jobs without interruption?”

“Isn’t that rather like locking the gate after the cows have left?” she asked with a frown. “And I would have thought that answering our questions _is_ their job right now.”

“S-sir…”

“At ease, Konek,” he growled. 

“Ex-military?” She quirked one forked brow. “Interesting, that you would be working for such a renowned pacifist as Senator Jameson.”

“Well, we’ve all had to find new lines of work, haven’t we, Ms. Catalonia?”

“I suppose we have, at that.” She gazed back at him appraisingly. “So who did you work for, that you recognize me?”

“Does it matter?” He growled. “The war is behind us, and the past is just that. Right now, all that matters is finding one little girl who has nothing to do with either war or peace.”

She nodded. “Of course, you are right. I was just surprised, since your background check did not mention military service.”

* * *

“Damn. Do you think this place is big enough?” Duo glared sourly at the dark racks around them. “And how much wine does one person really need?”

“Duo…”

“Yeah… yeah. Focus. Right.” The younger man sighed and continued wandering around the basement, shining his flashlight into dark and dusty corners that the single dim light bulb could not penetrate. “So, how much is a collection of wine like this worth? Some of these bottles are really old.”

“A lot…” Zechs growled. “Duo, can we ignore the wine for a moment, and get back to looking for Seely? Do the walls look like what you saw?”

“No.” Duo stopped. “How much is a lot?”

Zechs frowned, turning to glare at his partner until he remembered that Duo didn’t normally ask idle questions in a case; and that he owed Solo an apology for not listening to him either. “Why?”

‘This bottle is pre-colony,’ Treize mused from behind them. ‘Even if you never broke the seal and drank it, it would be worth more than your salaries for a year put together.’

“Apparently, one of these bottles is worth more than both of us make in a year.” Zechs sighed. “What are you thinking, Duo?”

“You agree that the Senator is just a wee bit paranoid, right? He has security cameras all over the first two floors of his house, inside and out, all the windows are wired, someone is sitting in a room monitoring the system twenty-four hours a day…”

“So? What does that have to do with wine?”

“So… he’s got a fortune sitting in small, easily portable containers. And there isn’t a single security camera down here.” Duo shook his head. “You rich people are weird.”

“Maybe he figures that if you get as far as his wine cellar, security cameras aren’t going to do any good?”

“Maybe…” Duo stared thoughtfully around at the walls. “Maybe.” After a moment, he pulled the floorplans back out of his jacket and spread them out on the floor. He examined them closely for several minutes, then looked back at the far wall of the vault. “How big would you say this basement is?” 

“Maybe 10 meters?” Zechs leaned against one of the wine racks, watching in fascination as his partner got up and moved to the corner nearest the stairs and started walking along the wall. He was pacing with an oddly intent look, counting softly under his breath with each step. 

“Close. Twelve.” Duo stopped at the far corner, and turned to look back at him. “But on the floorplan, it’s supposed to be eighteen. This basement runs under the kitchen, the formal dining room and part of the living room we were in last night.”

“That’s odd.” Zechs frowned.

“Lot’s of things are odd about this mess,” Duo mused, as he started pacing the back wall. “If I’m right, we should be right underneath the hall now, and this wall is even with the door into the living room.” He ran his hands lightly over the smooth stone. “So what’s on the other side of this wall?”

* * *

“Well, I suppose I’ve bothered you gentlemen long enough.” Dorothy straightened and let the palm of her right hand rest casually on the side of one of the computers. The small metal contact point imbedded in the flesh near her wrist warmed, letting her know that Epyon was finished searching the security network files. “Though I would like to see the security camera recordings from the night Seely disappeared.” She could see the confused look on Gary’s face, but ignored him for the moment. “The ones saved here, not a disk copy.”

“Of course,” Robert Lowell frowned, staring at her pensively. “By the way, where are your partners? I was expecting them to join the forensic team outside, but they seem to have vanished.”  
He glanced at the monitors, and she followed his gaze. The monitors showed most of the first two floors, including the hall outside Seely’s room and the grounds immediately outside the mansion. But there was no sign of Zechs or Duo on any of the screens.

“I believe they may be checking the little girl’s room again.” She shrugged. “Why? Did you need to speak with them?”

“Just curious. They seem to be much more concerned with searching inside the house than looking for the kidnappers.”

She glanced at him calmly. “Until the kidnappers call again, there is little we can do but wait. The police are searching for them outside the house. We are merely trying to find out what happened inside the house. When she was taken.” She saw the expression of shock on his face as he caught the pause.

“What are you implying?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged casually as Gary finished pulling up the file. Dorothy pulled a chair over to where she could watch the screens but still keep one hand unobtrusively touching the computer. “Yet. But the Senator is an extremely powerful man, as well as very paranoid. Your security system would appear to be flawless; but since the little girl is missing, I suppose there had to be at least one flaw in it.”

His expression darkened with anger. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“No.” She hesitated. “Are you confessing to something?” When he didn’t answer, she shrugged.

“Bitch.” She smiled faintly at the soft curse behind her as the door closed. _That was weird. And where the hell are Zechs and Duo?_

* * *

“Can you feel anything?” Zechs sighed, straightening wearily. He’d been searching the wine vault again, while Duo felt along the anomalous back wall. 

“Nothing. If there’s a way past this wall, it has to be somewhere else.”

“But why wouldn’t there be security cameras down here, if not to hide the entrance? There has to be something…” Zechs broke off what he was about to say as Solo reappeared for the first time since the previous night. For once, he wasn’t holding Seely tightly in his arms. 

“Zechs?” Duo glanced up, then seeing Zechs staring at empty space again, sighed. “What is it?”

“Solo’s back,” Zechs answered softly. “Where’s the little girl?”

Solo shrugged, and then gestured behind him. A moment later, two more apparitions appeared in the space beside him. One was Seely, though the little girl was much neater in appearance than she’d been the other times he’d seen her. She was still clutching the battered, bloody teddybear in one hand, but the other was holding the hand of a striking young woman in a nun’s habit. The child peered up at him shyly, then moved closer to the nun. Treize was staring at the three, looking just as stunned as Zechs felt.

“Holy Mother of God…”

‘Not quite.’ The nun looked almost amused, one brow arching, as she looked him over. Then her eyes moved to Duo and the look of pride and love in them nearly broke his heart. 

“Zechs?” Duo moved closer, sounding worried. Zechs spared a moment to wonder what expression must have been on his face to prompt the concern in his partner’s voice.

“I… Um…” He shook his head. _How can I tell him she’s here? And he can’t see her or touch her. But how can I not?_ “Duo, what was the nun’s name?”

“Huh? Oh God— Sister H-Helen?”

‘Duo.’ A hand reached out to touch his cheek, translucent fingers passing through flesh for a brief moment. Duo shivered, and threw Zechs a pleading look. 

“She’s here?”

Zechs nodded, still trying for words. The nun looked sad, then dropped her hand and looked back at Zechs. ‘There isn’t much time.’

“Time for what?”

‘Time to solve this puzzle.’ She sighed. ‘Solo brought the child to me, as he often does with the small ones. It’s more difficult for them to understand death at first.’ She glanced appraisingly at both Treize and Zechs. ‘He thought she might tell me what happened.’

“How did she die?” Zechs asked, trying to remember the questions on Duo’s list the night before.

‘Gunshot.’ The nun looked sad. 

“Where is she?”

‘Nearby, though she can’t seem to find the way back.’ Sister Helen sighed. ‘Solo hoped I could help, but I don’t know how. She remembers very little.’ 

The child looked up at Zechs uncertainly, then back at the nun and tugged at her hand insistently. ‘What is it, child?’ The nun knelt on the hard floor next to the little girl.

‘Not s’posed to be here…’ the ghost whispered. ‘Papa said not to go down the stairs, ‘cause it’s too dark. I could get hurt.’

‘Oh, sweetheart,’ the nun pulled the child into her arms. ‘It’s safe now, as long as we’re here with you.’

“Which stairs?” Zechs asked softly, only vaguely aware of Treize moving away behind him. “The basement stairs?”

The child nodded shyly.

“Is that your bear?” He asked gently. “What’s his name?”

‘Rover.’ She hugged the bear tighter. ‘I wanted a puppy. Papa told me I could have one when I got older, if I took care of him.’

“Seely, where is Rover now?” 

‘He fell into the box.’ She frowned. ‘But there weren’t any dolls in it.’

“What?” Zechs blinked at the ghost, completely bewildered. The nun sighed and looked just as helpless.

“Zechs? What’s going on?” Duo asked softly. 

“Seely said her bear’s name is Rover, and he fell into a box, here in the basement. But there weren’t any dolls in it.” 

“Huh?” 

“I don’t know what she means.”

“She must mean the open crate I saw; but it wasn’t here in this room.”

‘Seely, what _was_ in the box, if there weren’t dolls in it?’ Treize moved back to join them, looking worried. 

‘Stuff…’ She bit her lip. ‘Metal, and wires.’

‘And why did you think there would be dolls in it?’

‘Cause I heard Papa and Uncle Scary talking about it. Uncle Scary said he’d gotten a box of doll parts. They were really ‘spensive.’

“Where were you when you heard them talking?”

‘In my cave.’ She shrugged, with a child’s innocence. ‘I forgot Rover, and went back to get him. He keeps the bad dreams away.’

“I’m sure he does a very good job of that too,” Zechs said hoarsely. “And did your Papa and Uncle go to look at the box of dolls?”

‘Yeah…’ She sighed. ‘I really wanted to see them, an‘ I waited ‘til they came back. Then Rover and I went down the stairs. I was bad, wasn’t I? I’m not s’posed to go down the stairs.’

‘Box of dolls… Oh dear _God_. They had a box of mobile doll components.’ Treize swore softly. ‘What the hell is a Pacifist doing with mobile doll parts?’

* * *

Dorothy watched the images scrolling across the monitors as the file played. She could feel Epyon pulsing in her palm, and surreptitiously placed her hand back on the computer. So far, the video record looked identical to the one they had watched the previous night. _What are we looking for?_ She asked the computer silently. _What are you trying to show me?_

**Soon/see/hear**

_See what?_

**edit…here**

She looked intently at the screen, surprised to see that a new image had appeared. It was of the front gates, as a nondescript van drove up the long curving drive. Then, just at the edge of the camera’s range, it pulled off the driveway onto a narrow gravel path and vanished between the trees. She remembered seeing the drive on the way to the mansion that morning, but couldn’t remember if Duo had mentioned checking it out on his security tour. Surely he had though, she mused, he seemed to have checked everything else out.

“Gary, where does that gravel drive lead?”

“Oh, that? That would be to the delivery entrance. It’s around behind the garage by the old storm cellar.”

“The what?” She blinked; not remembering anything labeled as a storm cellar on the floorplans. But then, there hadn’t been a smaller driveway set-aside for deliveries, either. 

“There’s an old storm cellar, but the Senator was afraid of Seely falling down the stairs and getting hurt, so it was sealed up a year or so ago. I’m not even sure there is an entrance to it any more. I believe he sealed off the basement entrance too.”

“How interesting,” she murmured. “Did you happen to mention the cellar to Duo when you showed him around?”

“No. I’d forgotten all about it, actually.” Gary shrugged. “It’s sealed off, so even if I had remembered when we looked at the delivery drive, I don’t figure showing him where the entrance used to be would make much difference.”

 _I wouldn’t be too sure of that,_ she thought grimly. “So what deliveries were made that evening?”

“None that I know of…” Gary frowned. “That wasn’t a delivery van, that was just the Senator’s brother-in-law.”

That caught her attention. There had been no mention of relatives visiting in the statements she had read. “Oh? What is his name, again? I’m still trying to keep track of who all was in the house that night.”

“Skerritt Morrison.” Gary scowled. “He only shows up at night sometimes, and never stays more than an hour or two. Mrs. Jameson doesn’t like him being around much.” He shrugged. “I didn’t even know he was there that night, couldn’t have stayed long, or he would have shown up on the video inside the house.”

Dorothy didn’t bother to point out that he hadn’t shown up at all on the copy that Gary had lent Duo. _Which was suspicious right there… why would he have been erased from the video? And who had done it?_ From the sound of it, Morrison didn’t usually spend enough time in the house to be that familiar with the security system.

“Who was on duty in here that night?” She asked quietly.

“I think Hendricks was,” Gary answered. “I’m not sure though, it was supposed to be Brenner, but he got the flu.”

“Hmm.” She glanced back at the video playing on the monitor. _Epyon?_

**Sally Po standing in camouflage, a bag in one hand… Une back in an Oz uniform holding her glasses in one hand**

Dorothy blinked at the images suddenly blurring through her head. _Sally’s here?_

**Here soon.**

_Good. Took her long enough._ Dorothy sighed softly. She’d been waiting for Une’s second to arrive since she had first entered the security room.

**Duo, in a black flight suit that looked oddly like a priest’s outfit, sitting on the floor of a cell. Zechs Merquise pacing the bridge of the Libra, in the uniform of White Fang.**

_Are Duo and Zechs in trouble?_

There was a long pause, and then Epyon pulsed once in her hand. **Danger… soon…**

_Where are they? The attic?_

**Outside the dark place.**

_Where is the dark place?_

Epyon pulsed frantically in her palm, apparently confused by the question. **black van, pulling up behind the garage**

 _They’re outside?_ She frowned. Epyon pulsed again, and the image replayed. This time she recognized the image from the security video. _The storm cellar?_ Warmth flooded her palm, but before she could ask any further questions, angry voices sounded outside the door.

“Lady Une, I must protest. We called the Preventers here to find out who kidnapped the Senator’s daughter, not to dig for dirt on the Senator.” She recognized Robert Lowell’s voice. “I don’t know what they think they are looking for, but it should be obvious by now that Seely’s kidnappers are not in the wine cellar.”

“Mr. Lowell, I appreciate that you are concerned for the Senator’s privacy, but we need to…”

“We need to do nothing,” Lowell growled. “And until you produce a warrant explaining why your men are prying into the Senator’s private life…”

“Here.” Dr. Po sounded annoyed. “This would be the warrant granting us the right to search the grounds in response to an anonymous tip.” 

“An anonymous tip?” Lowell sounded incredulous. “Please. That will not stand up in a court of law…”

“That piece of paper has a judge’s signature granting us the right to search the house and grounds for evidence. Which rights we have also had since the Preventer’s were called in by Senator Jameson to investigate the kidnapping of his daughter, by any means necessary. It will stand up in a court of law.” There was a pause. “Should it need to.”

Dorothy sighed, meeting the wide eyes of the security guard. _That sounds like our cue._  
* * *

‘Seely.’ Solo knelt next to the little girl. ‘Where was the box?’ She looked at him solemnly, hugging Rover tighter to her chest. ‘When Rover fell in?’ After a long moment, she turned to point over her shoulder at the sidewall of the wine cellar.

‘In the hole in the wall. It was dark…’

Zechs turned to stare at the wall as well. There was no evidence of a hole, or door now, but neither of them had given that wall more than a quick examination. ‘But that’s the original foundation wall on the floorplan, there shouldn’t be anything behind it but dirt…’

“Duo,” he called softly. The younger man glanced up from his examination of the back wall, then crossed to his side quickly. 

“What’s up?”

“We’ve been looking in the wrong place.” Zechs pointed at the side wall. “The Dark Place is through there— somehow.” 

“Damn.” Duo frowned, staring at the wall, then started his careful examination of it. A moment later he winced in surprise, and pressed hard against one of the cinder blocks forming the wall. “Ow…” 

“Duo?” Zechs started forward, catching the younger man around the waist as a section of wall slid into darkness and he nearly stumbled forward into the abyss beyond. 

“Open sesame. Hand me a flashlight.”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s quite what Ali Baba said,” Zechs growled, but handed Duo his flashlight. The faint beam played over a large number of crates and boxes stacked haphazardly along rough stone walls. The chamber beyond was larger than they had expected, paralleling the length of the basement and forming an L shape where the rest of the basement should have extended according to the floorplans. On the far edge of the light, they could see the shadow of a steep wooden staircase stretching up towards the ceiling. There was a rather unpleasant smell to the air that neither man really wanted to think about.

Moving cautiously, they stepped into the room and began searching the crates nearest the opening. Neither could picture Seely moving too far into the dark room, and the dim light from the basement only stretched a few feet into the gloom.  
They had barely pried the lid from the nearest crate when with a loud grinding noise, the door in the wall slid shut again. Now the only light at all came from the flashlight Duo was holding.

“You know, I hate when things like that happen,” Duo muttered softly, shifting the lid sideways with one hand. “Shit. Is that…?”

“Looks like blood,” Zechs confirmed as they stared at the dark stain on the edge of the box. The interior of the box was filled with metal components and wire harnesses. More than a few were covered with something brown and flaking. “We need to get forensics down here.”

“We need to find Seely first,” Duo muttered. “Shit, there are a lot of crates down here. It’s going to take a while to search them all. There has to be something…”

“Well, now, looks like I owe Rich an apology.” They both looked up at the snide voice, as a much brighter lamp suddenly turned on from the shadowed alcove and blinded them. “I told him you Preventers would never think to look for the little girl on the grounds, and certainly wouldn’t be able to find this room.”

“Looks like you were wrong,” Duo growled, one arm raised to shield his eyes. 

“Looks like I was. Hands up, both of you.”

* * *  
Dorothy nodded to Lady Une and Sally Po as she stepped into the hall. The doctor raised one eyebrow, but didn’t speak. She’d been skeptical when Dorothy had asked her to get the warrant and bring it to the mansion as soon as possible, unable to offer any proof except an anonymous source. _A warrant should not have even been necessary, given the free reign the forensics teams were given… but I guess she was right about wanting me to bring one. But there had better be proof soon, or Une is going to tear some heads off when this is over._

“Dorothy, what are Zechs and Duo looking for?” Lady Une asked impatiently. “I have to agree with Mr. Lowell that the wine cellar is a less than likely place for the kidnappers to be.”

Dorothy hesitated, then frowned slightly. “The kidnappers, yes.” The blond took a deep breath, and seemed to come to some decision. “Seely Jameson’s body, however, is another story.” 

“What?” Lady Une looked stunned. Lowell simply looked frozen.

“We have reason to believe that Seely Jameson was not kidnapped,” Dorothy said quietly, the grim look on her face lending credence to her words that none of them could argue with. “I don’t have time to go into all the details right now Lady Une, but you have to trust us. I need the Preventers to pick up the Senator’s brother-in-law for questioning. He was, according to the security video, on the grounds that night; a fact that did not come to light in anyone’s statements.” 

The security agent that had followed Dorothy out of the room nodded silently behind her, and to Sally’s surprise, Lowell looked pale.

“Konek?” Robert Lowell growled at his subordinate. “I watched that disk yesterday, he wasn’t on it.”

“Not on the disk, no sir,” Konek looked uncertainly around the small group in the hall. “I watched it too, sir. Before I gave it to Agent Maxwell last night. But Ms. Catalonia is right, he’s on the mainframe backup copy.” 

“Bloody _Hell…_ ” Lowell hissed. “And Hendricks was on duty that night, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, sir. I think so sir.”

“Mr. Lowell?” Lady Une turned to the Head of Security.

“Skerritt Morrison is Mrs. Jameson’s brother,” the security chief muttered. “He’s the black sheep of the family, and a little unstable. But I don’t believe he would have hurt Seely, or taken her.”

“Then why did Mrs. Jameson not want him on the property?” Dorothy asked with a scowl. 

“Mrs. Jameson banned him from the property a year ago, because of his penchant for scandal. Not to mention what would happen to the Senator’s chances in the next election if the press found out the newest candidate for the Pacifist Party had ties to a former member of White Fang. Only the fact that the people adore Relena Peacecraft as the former Queen of the World helped her escape that same stigma.” He hesitated, apparently remembering that he was talking to a former member of White Fang. 

Dorothy swore softly. “I should have remembered that. I knew the name sounded familiar. But Morrison was kicked out of White Fang about the time I joined it.”

“And this Hendricks?”

“Also a member of White Fang.”

Dorothy flushed. “Aside from the White Fang connection, was there enough of a connection between the two for Hendricks to knowingly alter the security records? And if not, who did?”

“Hendricks used to work for the Morrison family, prior to Carolyn’s marriage to Senator Jameson,” Robert Lowell said slowly. “He would have known Skerritt for a long time, even prior to the war.”

“I want them both picked up for questioning,” Une snapped. “Dorothy…” her voice trailed off, and they all glanced over to see the blonde’s expression twist.

“Lowell, I need to get into the old storm cellar. _Now.”_

* * *

“Morrison?” Zechs frowned as he finally recognized the voice behind the blinding light. “What the hell?” _‘God, I can’t believe we let him get the drop on us. Next time, you're scouting out the apparently empty room first.’_

‘Yeah, well, none of us thought anyone would have been hiding in a pitch dark cellar with a corpse for twenty-four hours, either.’ Treize muttered grimly. ‘He’s alone for the moment, but he has a gun and appears to know what he’s doing with it.’

“Milliardo, I’m flattered you remember me.” 

“Old friend of yours, Zechs?” Duo rolled his eyes behind the shelter of his arm, and Zechs caught the subtle signal.

“Not especially,” Zechs growled. “A mad dog kicked out of White Fang for over-enthusiastic interpretation of orders, if I remember correctly.”

“You always were a sanctimonious son of a bitch, Peacecraft. And I said get your hands up.” 

“I try.” Zechs tensed. “It’s over, Morrison. Just tell us where the girl’s body is.”

“I don’t think so,” Morrison growled. “I didn’t spend the last day and a half down here with this smell to let you arrest me now.” 

“What are you gonna do, shoot us?” Duo muttered. “That would get you worse than arrested.”

“Not if no one finds your bodies.”

“We found this room, Morrison, so will the other Preventers.”

‘Someone’s coming.’ Treize swore softly. ‘And it’s not Dorothy.’

“Now!” Zechs hissed at Duo, and threw himself to the right; rolling behind another stack of crates as Morrison fired at them. The younger man moved in the same instant, though his dive to the left was delayed as he grabbed something out of the crate his hand was resting on and threw it straight at the light. A moment later, the room was plunged back into darkness. Duo made a soft choked sound as Zechs heard him hit the floor and roll, then the silence was broken by more gunshots.

_‘Treize?’_

‘He’s not hit,’ the ghost reassured him, before the darkness lit up again. This time, both Treize and Solo were glowing in anger. It took Zechs a moment to realize he was the only one who could see, and he wasted no time in drawing his own gun to return fire. Morrison had hidden around the corner of the alcove, and even with the light from the specters Zechs couldn’t get a clear shot. He threw a quick glance at Duo, relieved to see the younger man had his own gun drawn and appeared to be listening intently.

“Stay down, company’s coming. I’m going after Morrison!” Zechs hissed softly, before starting to move cautiously through the maze of boxes. _Damn I hope most of these aren’t full of live ammunition. A firefight down here could kill us all._

Duo looked startled, obviously still unable to see a damn thing. “Be careful.”

Zechs moved quickly, trying to get into a position to get a shot off at Morrison before whoever Treize had warned him of arrived. But the alcove the man had taken shelter in was full of even more boxes and crates than the main cellar, and there was no clear shot. He fired once, as the man started to raise up to spray bullets in their direction, and heard the man grunt; but there was no way to tell how much damage the hit had done. 

Zechs started to move closer, when Treize suddenly stiffened and turned towards the stairs. It was all the warning Zechs had before the room was suddenly flooded with light. He turned, realizing too late that he was exposed to both Morrison and the newcomers, and dived for the cover of another stack of crates. 

Shots rang out behind him, and he realized that Duo was providing covering fire. Morrison hadn’t moved, but Zechs wasn’t about to count him out without proof that he was dead. The two men on the stairs had dived for cover on the far side of the cellar, though he heard someone groaning and thought that Duo might have gotten at least one hit as well.

 _‘Treize, is Morrison dead?’_ He asked grimly, checking the number of bullets left in his clip quickly. 

‘No…’ Treize growled.

“Great,” Zechs muttered softly. “Fucking great.” He leaned cautiously out of his hiding spot, trying to see where Duo was laying behind the open crate. A bullet ricocheted off the stone wall behind him, sending stone chips down onto his head.

‘Duo’s fine,’ Treize snapped. ‘Keep your damn head down. Dorothy’s on her way with reinforcements.’

_‘Shit, and there’s no way to warn them they’re about to walk into a hot zone.’_

‘I think she knows.’ Treize frowned. 

_‘Who are we up against?’_

‘Two of the Senators’ security team, both heavily armed. One took a bullet in the leg, but is still moving.’

“Damn.” Zechs caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, and fired another shot at Morrison. Another flurry of shots rang out around the room, as everyone tried to take advantage of the distraction. Once he’d driven Morrison back into his cover, Zechs switched out clips in his gun quickly. Now would be a really bad time to run out of bullets. Zechs saw Duo squirm around until Zechs could see him. The younger man grimaced, raising three fingers. Zechs nodded back, raising one finger and pointing towards Morrison. Duo nodded sharply, rose into a careful crouch, then raised his hand again.

‘Wait!’ Treize muttered. Zechs raised a closed fist at Duo, who merely threw him a wary look but froze obediently. A moment later, Solo reappeared next to Treize. ‘Now.’

Zechs nodded sharply to Duo, then threw himself sideways out of his cover, firing at Morrison. From the sharp burst of gunfire from Duo’s position, he knew the younger man had moved as he had. More bullets hit the floor near Zechs’ body, as he scrambled to get closer to Morrison, and he felt something burn across his arm. Then covering fire was coming from the stairs. Zechs squeezed off another shot, and Morrison pitched out of his cover to lie still on the floor. 

Zechs rolled quickly behind another crate, keeping his gun trained warily on Morrison, even though he was fairly sure the man wasn’t getting up again. A moment later, the sound of gunfire ceased again. The only sound in the sudden silence was a pained groan from the direction of the stairs. Only when he was safely under cover did he take a quick glance in that direction.

“Status!” Une barked sharply, as Dorothy and Lowell straightened from their defensive crouches in front of her. All three had drawn guns in hand.

“Clear,” Zechs called back. 

“Clear,” Duo answered from another stack of crates across the cellar. 

“Clear,” Dorothy and Lowell both muttered. 

“Suspect down, in need of medical here,” Zechs growled, letting himself relax slightly.

“One suspect dead here,” Duo echoed. “Another in need of medical. All accounted for.” 

“Good. Now, does one of you want to tell me what the fuck just happened?” 

Zechs sighed. It was going to be a long morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this chapter made up for the slow build at the beginning.


	18. Epilogue: Sanctuary

Zechs leaned against the wall, watching in numb relief as the forensics team was relocated to the storm cellar. Sally put a quick field dressing on his arm, where one of the bullets had left a painful cut; promising to do a more thorough job once more medical backup arrived and she didn’t have to see to keeping the suspects alive for questioning on her own. He had just nodded. To his relief, Duo had managed to stay relatively unharmed during the firefight, coming through with only bruises. 

Once the suspects had been secured, Duo had opened the hidden entrance to the wine cellar; though so far Lady Une had not been able to pry out of him how he’d known where it was. He’d just smiled and muttered something about trade secrets. 

Despite the lights and cleaner air from both doors, the storm cellar air still carried the taste and smell of blood. Finally escaping Une’s questions, the younger man had gingerly sat down on the stairs next to him.

“You okay?” Zechs stirred himself to ask. 

“Yeah.” Duo looked like he wanted to say something else for a moment, then frowned. “You mind if we go outside?” 

“Why would I mind?” Zechs glanced at him sharply. “What’s wrong?”

“I… this place. I touched a few too many of the boxes down here, rolling around in the dark. It’s giving me a headache, that’s all.” He muttered finally.

“I imagine it is going to take a little bit for them to get around to us,” Zechs shrugged, wincing a little. “And I could use a break from the smell of blood too.” 

“Thanks, man.” 

Dorothy joined them outside, as they found a seat on the back stairs of the house. The three sat in a companionable silence, content to leave the investigation to the rest of the Preventers for the moment. 

“They found her body,” Dorothy broke the silence finally. “In another crate. She still had the bear with her.”

“Rover,” Zechs sighed sadly. 

“Maybe she’ll rest now that she’s not lost in the dark anymore,” Dorothy muttered.

“I hope so.” Zechs glanced around, but didn’t see any of the ghosts at the moment. 

“What are we going to tell them?” Dorothy finally asked, voicing the thought that all of them had been wondering.

“What did you tell Sally to get the warrant?”

“That we had an anonymous tip that the little girl had been murdered, not kidnapped.” 

“Probably best to stick to that then,” Zechs sighed. “Let them assume that someone involved with the Senator’s security staff got cold feet, and tipped us off.”

“Yeah.” 

“So this is where you three vanished too.” Sally’s voice reached them from the doorway behind them. “Let me take another look at that arm, Zechs.”

He just nodded. 

“What’s happening inside?” Duo asked Sally as she unwrapped the bandage from Zechs’ arm. “With the Senator and his wife?”

“I sedated Mrs. Jameson. She was hysterical when they found the body.”

“And the Senator?” Duo pressed, and Zechs knew he was remembering the man’s ring.

“He’s— in the middle of confessing to quite a few things he shouldn’t have done.” She eyed them all for a moment. “But somehow, I think you three already knew he was involved.”

“It was his house,” Duo muttered. “No way Morrison could have hidden that much illegal weaponry in his basement without him knowing about it.”

“Plus, he was the one that supposedly sealed off the back portion of the basement, and the storm cellar,” Dorothy added.

“He knew about it,” Une said grimly, and they turned to look at her. “Though it was apparently Skerritt Morrison that was behind most of what happened.”

“Uncle Scary,” Zechs muttered softly. 

“What did happen?” Duo asked before Une could question Zechs’ comment. 

“I would have thought you all knew that already, given how far ahead of everyone else you were on this investigation.”

“We had a few tips and hunches that turned out to be right.” Dorothy shrugged. “So how was the Senator involved?”

“He was being blackmailed by Morrison. Apparently, just before Seely was born, the Jamesons’ had a falling out. Morrison found out about the Senator’s indiscretions somehow. When Seely was born, though, the Senator adored her, and he and his wife reconciled. He was terrified that if she found out about his affairs, she would take Seely away from him. When White Fang kicked Morrison out, he vowed revenge, and started stockpiling weapons to start his own army. Jameson let him hide things in the basement, though he refused to have anything to do with starting an army. Then the war ended, for everyone but Morrison. He forced Jameson to let him continue to put things in the hidden room. Apparently, he also would stay down there sometimes; we found a cot and some rations in that back part of the cellar.

“Jameson was, by then, a leading proponent of Pacifism. I think he had the misguided idea that Morrison would get disgusted, or give up. When Morrison brought the mobile doll parts, Jameson didn’t believe him. So they went down to look at the stash. He said Seely must have followed them, though he doesn’t know why, since she was forbidden to go down in the basement. They had left the door into the storm cellar open, so that Hendricks and Brenner could move the crate. But Seely surprised them, and one of them panicked and shot her. Jameson wasn’t sure which one, and Hendricks is still unconscious. Morrison convinced the Senator that he would be equally guilty of causing his own daughter’s death, and it would cost him everything— his wife, his political career— everything. Jameson caved, and agreed to go along with the kidnapping scheme until the body could be moved.”

Une sighed, looking away from them into the trees. “I think he secretly wanted to get caught, but he was too frightened to tell anyone what had happened. The members of his security staff loyal to Morrison were near him at all times, so he didn’t dare say anything.” 

“Lowell?” Dorothy asked quietly.

“Was innocent. He had taken over the position as Head of Security only after the war. He was suspicious because he couldn’t figure out how Seely had been taken from under their noses, but didn’t have any idea that Morrison had been there that night. He knew where the old storm cellar had been, built parallel to the wine cellar, but not that there was still an entrance into it from either the basement or the garage.”

“What about the window in the pantry?” Duo asked suddenly. “Does it have anything to do with this at all?”

“It was apparently broken by Hendricks, to make the kidnapping claim more feasible.” Une shrugged. “The video surveillance records saved automatically in the mainframe were most enlightening.” Dorothy smiled faintly, and Zechs wondered what Une would do if she knew that Epyon had restored the images deleted from the record.

“So, that’s it?” Duo asked finally, when Une didn’t add anything else.

“That’s it. I expect a report on my desk first thing tomorrow detailing how you knew where to look, and what you knew of this,” She smiled suddenly, surprising all of them momentarily. “And I expect you all out of your offices by noon tomorrow. I have another new recruit who needs a desk.”

Duo blinked, and looked nervous. “You’re firing _all_ of us?”

“No. I’m approving your transfer requests. The homicide division is going to be setting up on the third floor.”

They all just stared at her. “But— Preventers doesn’t have a homicide division.”

“It does now.” She frowned at them. “I read those reports you put on my desk, Maxwell. I think you three would be the best suited for setting up the new division.”

“You’re putting me back in the field?”

“Yes.” She smiled again, at the stunned look on his face. “I didn’t take you out of the field because I thought you were unable to do the job, Maxwell. I have a great respect for your ability as an investigator. All of you. And while none of you seem to work well with others, you do work very well with each other.” She shook her head in bemusement as she turned away. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“We won’t…” Duo watched as she walked away again, followed by Dr Po. “Waitaminute… what reports?” Zechs tried to look innocent, but had the feeling he’d failed when both of his partners turned to stare pointedly at him.

“What?” He asked casually. “Well, I had to give her some reason to let us have the third floor to ourselves. I didn’t think just being antisocial was going to cut it. And we are rather uniquely suited for investigating homicides.”

* * *

Treize glanced up to see Sister Helen watching him gravely. Seely was standing with Solo a short distance away, frowning in distress as she showed him the stain on Rover. 

‘Solo seemed to think you wanted to ask me questions,’ she said quietly, moving over to sit next to him. ‘Though I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer what you want to know.’

He stared at her, a million questions jumbling through his mind. It was almost as much a surprise to him when one finally emerged. ‘Now what happens?’

She smiled, apparently understanding the meaning behind his question. ‘Does something have to happen now? The puzzle is solved, and life, for the living, goes on.’

‘And for the dead?’ He sighed. ‘Is this—it?’

‘You were expecting something more?’ She threw him a serious look, then smiled. ‘I was not aware that you believed in Heaven or Hell, General. And I cannot truly say what you will find when you finally cross the last barrier. It is not for me to judge the sins on your soul.’

‘But you didn’t pass on. Surely it was not because of some sin on your part.’ He looked at her. ‘One would think that a nun who had given so much of herself to help children would go to Heaven if there was one.’

To his consternation, she merely laughed. ‘Ah, so it was not your own state of existence that caused you to doubt the existence of God but mine?’ She shook her head. ‘Some souls are given a choice, to stay and wait for those we love, or to go on. Once we make that choice, we are bound to it as long as we are tied to the living.’ Her head turned to where Duo and Dorothy were sitting with Zechs, watching in concern as Sally bandaged the raw stripe across the older man’s bicep. ‘I chose to stay behind, to continue watching over the last of my children. And so I cannot answer your question.’

‘What of Seely?’ He asked softly. “Surely she would not choose to wait, especially for someone who caused her death in the first place.’

‘Some, such as Seely, are simply too young to be offered the choice. When she finally understands what has happened, she will find her own truth. Such is the case with all the children Solo has brought to me over the years. And there have been so very many.’

‘Solo.’ Treize shook his head. ‘I— understood he died before Duo came to Maxwell Church. How is it that he brings the children to you?’

‘How is it that you know him?’ she countered softly. ‘He was there, watching over Duo, when I died. The fact that I loved Duo as well makes him trust me as much as he has ever trusted any adult.’ She smiled softly at the young ghost, studiously helping the small child clean the blood off the bear. ‘It is good that he finally has someone to speak to. He has been alone for so very long.’

‘And what we are doing, helping the living. Is that against the rules?’

‘I’m not sure there are any rules.’ She shrugged, as the child came running back to her, to show her the bear. ‘Perhaps this is your chance to make amends, perhaps it is just a chance to make the wait for those you love more bearable. What is, simply is.’ Standing up, she lifted Seely into her arms. ‘You will have to find some of the answers on your own, General. But I will give you one answer, though it may not be anything you want to hear.’

‘And that is?’

‘We are dead. We cannot hold onto the living. You have to let him go, just as Solo is finding he must let Duo go.’ 

‘I let him go long ago, Sister, while I was still living. It might have been a mistake then, but it is true nonetheless.’

She eyed him for a moment, then merely nodded. ‘In that case, I wish you well.’ Then she was gone, taking the child with her.

‘So’d she tell you what y’wanted to know?’ Solo asked, sounding almost curious.

‘Perhaps.’ Treize turned to look at him thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps she did.’

‘Huh…’ Solo shook his head sadly. ‘Nuns. They see ev’rythin’ in black and white.’  
* * *

Zechs glanced around the small lounge as he listened to Dorothy and Duo making measurements in the conference room. They had decided to flip the two rooms, turning the outer lounge into the office, and leaving the former conference room to double as living quarters on the nights they didn’t make it back to his apartment. None of them had liked the idea of sleeping in the outer office. Duo and Dorothy were already trying to figure out how to sneak bedding past Une and the accounting grinches. _She gave us free rein to set this up the way we want it, but I think that asking for a bed will be too much for her to accept all at once. Maybe we’ll ease her into the barracks idea slowly._

‘Are you sure you shouldn’t give her a little more credit than that? She probably already knows you three won’t be going home most nights.’

A faint movement caught his eye, and he turned to see Sister Helen sitting down on one of the other couches. 

“Sister Helen,” He blinked. “What can I do to thank you for your help?”

‘I need no thanks.’ She smiled serenely. ‘Seeing Duo happy again is quite enough for me. Though perhaps you could do me one small favor?’

“Anything.”

‘Convince him that he doesn’t have to be afraid to love anyone. He’s lost everyone that he’s ever loved, even if we’ve never really left him.’

“I’ll try,” Zechs frowned, not sure exactly how she meant for him to convince Duo of that.

‘And don’t be afraid to reach out yourself,’ She added a moment later, as she stood up again. ‘You were in love with a good man. But he’s dead now. You can’t stay loyal to a ghost forever. He wouldn’t want you to either. Though I suppose you could always ask him that yourself.’ And then she was gone again.

“Does she always do that?” He asked thin air, not sure if he expected an answer this time or not. “Solo?”

‘Yes,’ Solo muttered, wandering around the room curiously. He eyed Zechs a little uncertainly, as if not sure whether he was welcome or not. 

“Solo…” Zechs frowned, and the ghost looked even more wary. “Sit down? You’re making me dizzy wandering like that.”

‘You want me ta leave? Right?’

“No.” Zechs blinked. “I want to apologize. I should have listened to you earlier. And I wanted to thank you for your help today.”

Solo just shrugged uncomfortably. ‘Didn’t want Duo to get hurt. And Seely…’ He hitched one thin shoulder beneath the ragged t-shirt he wore. 

“Thank you,” Zechs smiled faintly, then sighed soberly. “I— Duo made me promise to ask you something.”

Solo cocked his head to the side, then smirked. ‘I know. An’… the answer’s no. He did all he could, and he saved a buncha kids’ lives by stealin’ that vaccine.’ The ghost sighed. ‘He did good. I knew he would.’ 

“Thank you.” Zechs smiled. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

‘Nah… he’ll get a swelled head.’ Solo bounced up and started pacing restlessly. ‘Cain’t have that.’ He paused, then looked back at Zechs measuringly. ‘You like him, right?’

“He’s my friend.”

‘Good.’ Solo shrugged. ‘Duo wasn’t ever meant to b’ lonely. He likes you too. An’ that chick wit’ the funky eyebrows.’

“Dorothy?”

‘Yeah,’ Solo grinned then, looking almost smug. ‘Sometimes nun’s are right to look at things in black’n white.’ With that last cryptic comment, Solo vanished again.

“What the hell did he mean by that?” This time, silence was his only answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...
> 
> I may end up taking a short break before I start posting In the Mouth of Madness, just because daily posting and work have been reducing what time I have to work on the last few chapters. But the current goal is that by December, the new stuff should be ready to go.


End file.
